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EVIDENCES 



OF THE 



AUTHENTICITY, INSPIRATION, 



AND 



CANONICAL .AUTHORITY 



OF THE 



HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



BY THE 

REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D.D 

Prof, of Theology in Theological Seminary at Princeton. 



SEVENTH EDITION. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 



*' 



-gfO' 01 
1^ 



Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1836, 
by Archibald Alexander, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
Court of the District of New Jersey. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



This edition of the Evidences has been enlarged by 
the addition of one-fourth part of the volume, and 
contains nearly twice as much matter as was includ- 
ed in the first editions of the work. The parts which 
have been added to the preceding and to the present 
edition are the chapter on " the necessity of Divine 
Revelation;" a new chapter on prophecy, relating 
to Nineveh, Babylon, and Tyre; the chapters on 
Inspiration; and the whole of what relates to the 
Canon of the Old and New Testaments. This last 
is an abridgment of the volume which the author 
published on the Canon ; of which work two edi- 
tions have been given to the public. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

The right use of reason in religion, 9 



CHAPTER II. 

It is impossible to banish all religion from the world, and if it 
were possible, it would be the greatest calamity which could 
befall the human race, 17 

CHAPTER III. 

If Christianity be rejected, there is no other religion which can 
be substituted in its place, at least no other which will at all 
answer the purpose for which religion is desirable, 24 

CHAPTER IV. 

Revelation necessary to teach us how to worship God accept- 
ably — the nature and certainty of a future state — and espe- 
cially, the method by which sinners may obtain salvation, ... 34 

CHAPTER V. 

There is nothing improbable or unreasonable in the idea of a 
revelation from God, and consequently nothing improbable or 
unreasonable in such a manifest divine interposition, as may 

be necessary to establish a revelation, 61 

5 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

PASS 

Miracles are capable of proof from testimony, 65 

CHAPTER VII. 
The miracles of the Gospel are credible, •#-*. '•«* 89 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The rapid and extensive progress of the Gospel, by instruments 
so few and feeble, is a proof of divine interposition, . . :. . . . 118 



CHAPTER IX. 

Prophecies respecting the Jewish nation which have been re- 
markably fulfilled, 130 



CHAPTER X. 
Prophecies relating to Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, &c, 138 

CHAPTER XI. 

Prophecies respecting Messiah — predictions of Christ respect- 
ing the destruction of Jerusalem, 159 

CHAPTER XII. 

No other religion possesses the same kind and degree of evi- 
dence as Christianity : and no other miracles are as well 
attested as those recorded in the Bible, 169 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Bible contains internal evidence that its origin is divine,. . 186 



CONTENTS. 7 

CHAPTER XIV. 

PAGK 

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were written 
by the inspiration of God ; and this inspiration, however it 
may be distinguished, was plenary; that is, the writers were 
under an infallible guidance, both as to ideas and words ; and 
yet the acquired knowledge, habits, and peculiar dispositions, 
of the writers, were not superseded, 222 

CHAPTER XV. 

The inspiration of the books of the New Testament, ......... 235 



CANONICAL AUTHORITY OF THE BOOKS OF SCRIPTURE. 
CHAPTER XVI. 

The importance of ascertaining the true canon of Holy Scrip- 
ture, 245 

CHAPTER XVII. 

The care with which the books of the Old Testament were pre- 
served — their canonical authority — the sanction given to 
these books by the Saviour and his apostles — and the method 
of ascertaining what books were in the canon at the time of 
Christ's advent, 249 

CHAPTER XVin. 

The books denominated aprocryphal have no just claim to a 
place among the canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament, 258 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Canon of the New Testament — method of settling it — testi- 
mony of the Church — constitution of the canon — whence 
these books derive their authority — solicitude of early Chris- 



8 CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

tians to obtain these books — their care to distinguish them 
from others — autographs, &c, 266 

CHAPTER XX. 

Testimonies in favour of the canonical authority of the books 
of the New Testament, 278 

CHAPTER XXL 
Canonical authority of Paul's Epistles, 287 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The canonical authority of the seven Catholic epistles, and of 
the book of Revelation, 295 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Recapitulation of evidence on the canon of the New Testament, 303 



EVIDENCES OE CHRISTIANITY. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE RIGHT USE OF REASON IN RELIGION. 

That it is the right and the duty of all men to exer- 
cise their reason in inquiries concerning religion, is a 
truth so manifest, that it may be presumed there are 
none who will be disposed to call it in question. 

Without reason there can be no religion: for in 
every step which we take, in examining the eviden- 
ces of revelation, in interpreting its meaning, or in 
assenting to its doctrines, the exercise of this faculty 
is indispensable. 

When the evidences of Christianity are exhibited, 
an appeal is made to the reason of men for its truth ; 
but all evidence and all argument would be perfectly 
futile, if reason were not permitted to judge of their 
force. This noble faculty was certainly given to man 
to be a guide in religion, as well as in other things. 
He possesses no other means by which he can form 
a judgment on any subject, or assent to any truth; 
and it would be no more absurd to talk of seeing 
without eyes, than of knowing any thing without 
reason. 

It is therefore a great mistake to suppose that reli- 
gion forbids or discourages the right use of reason. 
So far from this, she enjoins it as a duty of high 
moral obligation, and reproves those who neglect to 
judge for themselves what is right. 

It has frequently been said by the friends of reve- 
lation, that although reason is legitimately exercised 



10 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

in examining the evidences of revelation, and in 
determining the sense of the words by which it is 
conveyed; yet it is not within her province to sit in 
judgment on the doctrines contained in such a divine 
communication. This statement, though intended to 
guard'against the abuse of reason, is not, in my opin- 
ion, altogether accurate. Without reason we can 
form no conception of a truth of any kind; and when 
we receive any thing as true, whatever may be the 
evidence on which it is founded, Ave must view the 
reception of it to be reasonable. Truth and reason 
are so intimately connected that they can never with 
propriety be separated. Truth is the object, and 
reason is the faculty by which it is apprehended, 
whatever be the nature of the truth, or of the evi- 
dence by which it is established. No doctrine can 
be a proper object of our faith which it is not more 
reasonable to receive than to reject. If a book, claim- 
ing to be a divine revelation, is found to contain 
doctrines which can in no way be reconciled to right 
reason, it is a sure evidence that those claims have 
no solid foundation, and ought to be rejected. But 
that a revelation should contain doctrines of a mys- 
terious and incomprehensible nature, and entirely 
different from all our previous conceptions, and, con- 
sidered in themselves, improbable, is not repugnant 
to reason; on the contrary, judging from analogy, 
sound reason would lead us to expect such things in 
a revelation from God. Every thing which relates 
to this Infinite being must be to us, in some respects, 
incomprehensible. Every new truth must be dif- 
ferent from all that is already known ; and all the 
plans and works of God are very far above and 
beyond the conception of such minds as ours. Natu- 
ral religion has as great mysteries as any in revela- 
tion; and the created universe, as it exists, is as 
different from any plan which men would have con- 
ceived, as any of the truths contained in a revelation 
can be. But it is reasonable to believe what by our 
senses we perceive to exist ; and it is reasonable to 
believe whatever God declares to be true. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 11 

In receiving therefore the most mysterious doc- 
trines of revelation, the ultimate appeal is to reason : 
not to determine whether she could have discovered 
these truths; not to declare whether considered in 
themselves they appear probable ; but to decide whe- 
ther it is not more reasonable to believe what God 
speaks, than to confide in our own crude and feeble 
conceptions. Just as if an unlearned man should 
hear an able astronomer declare that the diurnal 
motion of the heavens is not real but only apparent, 
or that the sun is nearer to the earth in winter than 
in summer, although the facts asserted appeared to 
contradict the senses, it would be reasonable to ac- 
quiesce in the declarations made to him by one who 
understood the subject, and in whose veracity he 
had confidence. If then we receive the witness of 
men in matters above our comprehension, much 
more should we receive the witness of God, who 
knows all things, and cannot deceive his creatures by 
false declarations. 

There is no just cause for apprehending that we 
shall be misled by the proper exercise of reason on 
any subject which may be proposed for our consid- 
eration. The only danger is of making an improper 
use of this faculty, which is one of the most common 
faults to which our nature is liable. Most men pro- 
fess that they are guided by reason in forming their 
opinions ; but if this were really the case, the world 
would not be overrun with error ; there would not be 
so many absurd and dangerous opinions propagated 
and pertinaciously defended. In one sense, indeed, 
they may be said to follow reason, for they are guid- 
ed by a blinded, prejudiced, and perverted reason. 

One large class of men are accustomed, from a 
slight and superficial view of the important subject 
of religion, to draw a hasty conclusion, which must 
prove in the highest degree detrimental to their 
happiness. They have observed, that in the mod- 
ern as well as ancient world, there is much super- 
stition, much imposture, much diversity of opinion 
and variety of sects, many false pretences to Divine 



12 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

inspiration, and many false reports of miracles and 
prophetic oracles. Without giving themselves the 
trouble of searching diligently for the truth amidst 
the various contending claims, they draw a general 
conclusion that all religions are alike; that the whole 
affair is a cheat, the invention of cunning men who 
imposed on the credulity of the unthinking multi- 
tude; and that the claims to Divine Revelation do 
not even deserve a serious examination. Does right 
reason dictate such a conclusion as this ? If it did, 
and we were to apply it to all other concerns, it 
would make a sad overturning in the business of 
the world. Truth, honesty, and honour might, on 
these principles, be discarded as unmeaning names; 
for of all these there have been innumerable counter- 
feits, and concerning all of them an endless diversity 
of opinion. 

A second class, who profess to be men of reason, 
pay more attention to the subject of religion ; but 
their reason is a prejudiced judge. They listen with 
eagerness to all that can be said against revelation. 
They read with avidity the books written against 
Christianity, and but too faithfully treasure up every 
objection to religion; but her advocates never obtain 
from them a fair hearing. They never inquire whe- 
ther the arguments and objections which appear to 
them so strong, have not been refuted. With the 
means of conviction within their reach, they remain 
firmly fixed in their infidelity; and as long as they 
pursue this partial method of investigation, they must 
ever remain in the same darkness. 

A third class, who wish to be considered as taking 
reason for their guide, are under the dominion of 
vicious passions; ambition, avarice, lust, or revenge. 
Men of this character, however strong their intellect, 
or extensive their erudition, can never reason impar- 
tially on any subject which interferes with the grati- 
fication of their predominant desires; and as religion 
forbids, under severe penalties, all irregular passions 
and vicious indulgences, they pursue it with malig- 
nant hatred. As one well observes, " they are against 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 13 

religion because religion is against them." Such 
men never reason calmly on the subject, and they 
are incapable of receiving any benefit from the argu- 
ments of others. They never think of religion but 
with a feeling of enmity; they never speak of it but 
in the language of sneer or abuse. There is no ob- 
ject which this race of infidels have more at heart, 
than to root up every principle .of religion from the 
minds of men, and to drive it from the earth, so that 
not one vestige of it may remain to give them tor- 
ment. Voltaire may be considered as the leader of 
this band, and his humble imitators have been too 
numerous in every Christian country. 

But there is still another class of men, more distin- 
guished, as masters of reason, than those who have 
been mentioned. They are the cold, speculative, 
subtle skeptics, who involve themselves in a thick 
mist of metaphysics, attack first principles, and con- 
found their readers with paradoxes. The number 
of those who belong to this class is perhaps not large, 
but they are formidable ; for while the other enemies 
of the truth scarcely make a show of reason, these 
philosophers are experienced in all the intricacies of 
a refined logic ; so that in their hands error is made 
to appear in the guise of truth. Should we yield 
ourselves to the sophistry of these men, they will per- 
suade us to doubt, not only of the truth of revelation, 
but of our senses and of our very existence. If it be 
inquired how they contrive to spread such a colour- 
ing of skepticism over every subject, the answer is, 
by artfully assuming false principles as the premises 
of their reasoning ; by reasoning sophistically on cor- 
rect principles; by the dexterous use of ambiguous 
terms ; by pushing their inquiries beyond the limits 
of human knowledge; and by calling in question the 
first principles of all knowledge. It is not easy to 
conjecture what their motive is; most probably it is 
vanity. They are ambitious of appearing more pro- 
found and acute than other men, and distinction is 
not so readily obtained in the common course, as by 
flying off in an eccentric orbit. It cannot be any 

2 



14 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

sincere regard for truth which influences them ; for 
upon their principles, truth and reason are equally 
worthless. They pull down every thing, but build 
up nothing. Truth has no greater enemies in the 
world than this Pyrrhonic sect; and it is to be lamen- 
ted that sometimes ingenious young men are caught 
in the wiles of their sophistry, and are led so far into 
the labyrinth of their errors, that they are never able 
to extricate themselves; and all their fair prospects 
of virtue and usefulness are obscured for ever. 

Before I leave the consideration of the various 
classes of persons who, while they profess to be 
guided by reason, make an improper use of this 
faculty, I ought to mention a set of men, distinguish- 
ed for their learning and ingenuity, who profess to 
receive the Christian revelation and glory in the 
appellation of Rational Christians. They proceed 
on the plausible and (if rightly understood) correct 
principle of receiving nothing as true but what their 
reason approves; but these very men, with all their 
fair appearances of rationality, are chargeable with 
as gross a dereliction of reason as can well be con- 
ceived; and, in regard to consistency, are more vul- 
nerable than any of those already mentioned. While 
they admit that God has made a revelation, they in- 
sist upon the right of bringing the truths revealed to 
the test of human judgment and opinion, and reject 
them as unreasonable if they do not accord with this 
standard. But the declaration of God is the highest 
reason which we can have for believing any thing. 
To set up our opinion against the plain expression 
of his will, is surely presumption of the highest kind. 
Perhaps, however, I do not represent the case with 
perfect accuracy. Perhaps no man is chargeable 
with such an inconsistency, as to admit a thing to be 
contained in an undoubted revelation, and yet reject 
it. The exact state of the matter is this. The Scrip- 
tures, it is admitted, contain a revelation from God ; 
but there are many things in the Bible, which if 
taken in the most obvious sense, are inconsistent with 
reason; and as nothing inconsistent with reason can 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 15 

be from God, it is concluded that this cannot be the 
true sense of Scripture. Accordingly, their wits are 
set to work, and their learning laid under contribu- 
tion, to invent and defend some other sense. Upon 
these principles, a man may believe just as much, or 
as little as he pleases of what the Bible contains; 
for it has been found, that no text is so stubborn 
as not to yield to some of the modes of treatment 
which have been adopted. This whole procedure is 
contrary to right reason. The plain course which 
reason directs us to pursue, is, after examining the 
evidences of revelation until we are satisfied, to 
come to the interpretation of the Scriptures with an 
unbiased mind; and in the exercise of a sound 
judgment, and with the aid of those helps and rules 
which reason and experience suggest, to obtain the 
sense of the several parts of the document; and al- 
though this sense may contradict our preconceived 
opinions, or clash with our inclinations, we ought 
implicitly to receive it; and not by a refined ingenui- 
ty, and laboured critical process, to extort a meaning 
that will suit our own notions. This is not to form 
our opinions by the word of God, but to cut down 
the sublime and mysterious doctrines of revelation to 
the measure of our narrow conceptions. In the 
creed of many, called Rational Christians, the divine 
system of heavenly truth is shorn of its glory, and 
comes forth little more than an improved theory of 
Natural Religion. There is no reason in this. 

But what if the plain sense of Scripture be abso- 
lutely repugnant to the first principles of reason? 
Let that be demonstrated and the effect will be rather 
to overthrow the Scriptures, than to favour such a 
method of forming a theory from them. But no 
such thing can be demonstrated. The reasonings 
by which it has been attempted to prove that the 
doctrines commonly called orthodox are contrary to 
reason, and fallacious, and a similar mode of reason- 
ing on truths of Natural Religion, will land us in 
Atheism. 

Deistical writers have been fond of representing 



16 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

faith and reason as irreconcilable. They have in- 
sinuated and even asserted, that revelation cannot 
be received without a renunciation of reason; and 
have affected to regret that it should be subjected to 
the trial of a rational investigation, which they allege 
it can by no means bear. This was a favourite 
topic with Morgan, Bolingbroke, Voltaire, and Hume. 
The last mentioned author, in the close of his Essay 
on Miracles, used the following language: "Our 
most holy religion is founded on Faith, not on rea- 
son, and 'tis a sure method of exposing it, to put it 
to a test, which it is by no means fitted to endure." 
—And again: "Mere reason is insufficient to con- 
vince us of its [the Christian religion's] veracity, and 
whoever is moved by faith to assent to it, is conscious 
of a continual miracle in his own person, which sub- 
verts all the principles of his understanding." 

On the insidious nature of this attack, I shall not 
stop to remark, except to observe, that it may be 
taken as a specimen not only of Hume's method of 
treating Christianity, but of that of the whole tribe 
of deistical writers, until very recently, when they 
have come out boldly. Under the mask of friend- 
ship, and with words of respect on their lips, they 
have aimed the most deadly thrusts at the vitals of 
Christianity. But in regard to the sentiment express- 
ed in this extract, the friends of revelation utterly 
disclaim it, and hold it to be false and unfounded. 
The state of the controversy between Christians and 
deists did not authorize any such assertion. The 
defenders of the truth have ever been ready to meet 
their antagonists on the ground of impartial reason. 
They have met them at every point where they 
have chosen to make the assault; and I may safely 
say, that no deistical argument remains unrefuted, 
no infidel objection undetected and unexposed. As 
Mr. Hume wrote this immediately after finishing his 
argument against miracles, he may have felt a con- 
fidence that he had achieved what none before were 
able to effect. But his confidence was premature; 
the argument which he claims the honour of having 






EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 17 

discovered, (though this might be disputed on good 
ground) has been refuted, with a clearness of evi- 
dience sufficient to bring a conviction to any mind 
but that of a sophist and skeptic. We shall have 
further occasion, in the sequel, to consider the force 
of Mr. Hume's reasoning against miracles. 

It may perhaps require some apology, that a sub- 
ject which has been so fully and ably discussed in 
numerous volumes, should be attempted to be treated 
in a short essay. My only apology is that the poison 
of infidelity is imbibed by many, who never have 
access to the antidote. It is much to be regretted 
that some of the books which are almost sure to fall 
into the hands of literary youth, are deeply tinctured 
with skepticism. How many read Hume and Gib- 
bon, who never have seen the answers of Campbell 
and Watson ! Now if we can present even a brief 
outline of the evidences of Christianity to those who 
may not be disposed to read larger works, we may 
be contributing, in some small degree, to prevent the 
progress of one of the greatest evils to which men 
are liable. 



CHAPTER II. 



IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BANISH ALL RELIGION FROM THE WORLD, AND IF IT 
WERE POSSIBLE, IT WOULD BE THE GREATEST CALAMITY WHICH COULD 
BEFAL THE HUMAN RACE. 

It is not my object here to consider religion as it is 
a matter of duty, or a means of obtaining happiness 
in a future world; for both these would be equally 
disregarded by those men who aim at the subversion 
of all religion. What I shall attempt, at present, is 
to state and establish the fact, that man is so consti- 
tuted that he must have some sort of religion. 

And the truth of this will be manifest from an 
inspection of the principles of human nature, and 

2* 



18 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

from the history of the world. Man has naturally a 
sense of moral obligation, a perception of the differ- 
ence between right and wrong, feelings of remorse 
or approbation on the review of his conduct, fears 
of future retribution when he has committed a crime, 
and a propensity to pay religious homage to some 
object visible or invisible. These are what have 
been called his religious feelings; and from them he 
has received the appellation of a religious animal. 
And certainly there is nothing by which man is so 
clearly distinguished from the creatures below him, 
as this capacity for religion; for whatever indications 
they give of sagacity in other matters, it is impossi- 
ble to communicate to them any ideas of morality, 
or any impressions of a religious nature. That these 
feelings are natural, and not adventitious is manifest, 
because they are found to exist in men of all ages, 
of all countries, and in every different state of socie- 
ty. And hence, no nation ancient or modern, has 
ever been found without some kind of religion. It 
would be as difficult to find a whole nation without 
religion, as to find one destitute of speech. Some 
travellers, it is true, from superficial observation, 
have reported that some savage tribes had no ideas 
of religion, and no species of worship ; but on more 
accurate examination it has been ascertained that this 
was a mistake. And from our present knowledge 
of the nations of the earth, we are authorized to 
assert that there is not one totally destitute of some 
sense of religion and some form of worship. The 
same thing was well known to all the wisest men of 
antiquity. It is a fact from which both Plato and 
Cicero have derived many important conclusions. 
And these principles of our nature are so deeply 
radicated that they never can be removed. Men 
may be induced to abandon their old religion and to 
adopt a new one ; but they nevei* can remain long 
free from all religion. Take away one object of wor- 
ship and they will soon attach themselves to another. 
If unhappily they lose the knowledge of the true 
God, they will set up gods of their own invention 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 19 

or receive them from others. — The history of all 
nations bears such ample testimony to this fact that 
it cannot be denied. Now, this universality of reli- 
gion evinces, in the clearest manner, that the prin- 
ciple is natural, that it is an essential thing in the 
constitution of man: just as the fact that men are 
always found living in society, proves that the social 
principle exists and is natural to man. 

Atheistical men have indeed attempted to trace all 
religious feelings and all rites of worship to the craft 
of priests and policy of rulers; but this opinion is not 
only unsupported by historical testimony, but is most 
unreasonable in itself. For if there had not existed 
a predisposition to religion in the minds of men, such 
a design would never have been conceived ; and if 
it had, all attempts to introduce into the minds of 
men ideas so foreign to their nature, must have been 
abortive. 

At any rate, such an imposition could not have 
continued for so long a time, and could not have 
been extended to every tribe and nation in the world. 
If no sense of religion had existed in the minds of 
men, priests and politicians, however cunning, would 
have had no handle to take hold of, no foundation 
on which to build. Besides, it seems to be forgotten 
by the advocates of this hypothesis, that the existence 
of priests supposes the previous existence of religion. 

They have moreover alleged that fear produced 
the gods. Be it so ; it still confirms the position, that 
there is something in the nature of man which leads 
him to religion; and it is reasonable to conclude that 
a cause, which has operated uniformly heretofore, 
will continue to produce the same effects as long as 
the world stands. It is impossible, therefore, to ban- 
ish all religion from the world. 

To what degree atheists have succeeded in divest- 
ing themselves of all religious impression, I do not 
pretend to know. That some men have gone to a 
great length in counteracting the constitutional ten- 
dencies, and extinguishing the feelings of nature, is 
undoubtedly true ; but there have been sufficient in- 



20 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

dications to lead to the opinion that there is more of 
affectation than reality in the bravery of their pro- 
fession. It is known that some of them have, above 
other men, been the slaves of superstitious fears; and 
that others, in times of extreme peril, as in a storm 
at sea, have for the moment renounced their atheism, 
and cried as earnestly for mercy as those around 
them. Now if these philosophers, with all their rea- 
soning, are not able to erase all religious impressions 
from their minds, it is vain to attempt to banish all 
religion from the world. 

But suppose the great work achieved, and that 
every vestige of religion were obliterated, what 
would be the result? Would men remain without 
any objects of religious homage? Would they never 
again be afraid of invisible powers? Would the 
feelings of remorse at no time urge them to perform 
some sort of penance, or attempt some kind of expia- 
tion? Would no impostors and false prophets arise 
to deceive the world again with their dreams, fancies, 
and pretended revelations? They must have made 
but superficial observations on human nature, who 
think that none of these things would ever occur. 

If those persons, therefore, who oppose Christiani- 
ty, hope by its suppression to get rid of all religion, 
they do greatly deceive themselves. This work be- 
ing accomplished, they would soon have more to 
perform in endless progression. Instead of the pure, 
mild, benignant religion of Christ, they would soon 
find themselves surrounded by superstitions as foul 
and as false, as monstrous and as absurd, as any 
which the hotbed of paganism ever produced. Look 
into the heathen world, and see the abominations and 
miseries which inveterate superstition perpetuates in 
some of the fairest and most populous regions of the 
globe. Look at the savage tribes of Africa and 
America, and contemplate the cruel bondage of su- 
perstition to which the people are subjected. Evils 
as great would soon grow up among us, were it not 
*br the salutary influence of Christianity. Our fore- 
fathers, before they became Christians, were in the 

■ 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 21 

same degraded and wretched situation. And shall 
we curse our posterity by bringing back those evils 
from which our fathers escaped? It is a truth which 
should be proclaimed every where on the house tops, 
that it is the Bible which has delivered us from the 
horrid dominion of superstition, and it is the Bible 
which must prevent its return. Philosophy has had 
no hand in working out this deliverance from the 
horrors of idolatry. With all her celebrated schools 
and sages, she never turned one individual from the 
worship of idols; and she would be equally powerless 
in preventing the return of superstition, if other bar- 
riers were removed. 

But I proceed now to the second part of my pro- 
position, which is, that if religion could be banished 
from the world, it would be the greatest calamity 
which could befal the human race. 

It has formerly been a matter of discussion with 
the learned, whether the influence of superstition or 
atheism is most baneful to society. Plutarch, Bacon, 
Bayle, Warburton, and others, have handled this 
subject in a learned and ingenious manner, and ar- 
rived at very different conclusions. However doubt- 
ful this question may have been considered in former 
times, I believe all reflecting men are now pretty 
well satisfied, that the question is put to rest for ever. 
We have recently beheld the spectacle of a great 
nation casting off contemptuously the religion of their 
fathers, and plunging at once into the abyss of athe- 
ism. We have seen the experiment tried, to ascer- 
tain whether a populous nation could exist without 
the restraints of religion. Every circumstance was 
as favourable to the success of the experiment as it 
could be. Learning was in its highest state of ad- 
vancement; philosophy boasted of an approximation 
to perfection; refinement and politeness had never 
been more complete among any people. But what 
was the result? It is written in characters of blood. 
It was as if a volcano had burst upon the world, and 
disgorged its fiery flood over all Europe. Such a 



22 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

scene of cruelty, cold-blooded malignity, beastly im- 
purity, heaven daring impiety, and insatiable rapa- 
ciousness, the world never witnessed before, and, I 
trust in God, will never witness again. The only 
ray of hope which brightened the dismal prospect 
was, that this horrible system contained in itself the 
principles of its own speedy downfall. Atheism has 
no bond of union for its professors, no basis of mu- 
tual confidence. It breeds suspicion, and conse- 
quently hatred in every breast ; and it is actuated 
by a selfishness which utterly disregards all the 
bonds of nature, of gratitude, and of friendship. To 
an atheist fear becomes the ruling passion. Con- 
scious of his own want of virtue, honour, and hu- 
manity, he naturally views his fellows in the same 
light, and is ready to put them out of the way as 
soon as they appear to become obstacles to the ac- 
complishment of his plans. Hence the bloody actors 
in this tragedy, after glutting their revenge, by shed- 
ding the blood of innocent Christians and unoffend- 
ing priests, turned their murderous weapons against 
each other. Not satisfied with inflicting death on 
the objects of their suspicion or envy, they actually 
feasted their eyes daily, with the streams of blood 
which incessantly flowed from the guillotine. Never 
was the justice of heaven against impious and cruel 
men more signally displayed, than in making these 
miscreants the instruments of vengeance upon each 
other. The general state of morals in France, dur- 
ing the period in which Christianity was proscribed, 
and atheism reigned, was such as almost exceeds 
belief. An eye-witness of the whole scene, and an 
actor in some parts of it, has drawn the follow- 
ing sketch: — "Multiplied cases of suicide; prisons 
crowded with innocent persons; permanent guillo- 
tines; perjuries of all classes; parental authority set 
at naught; debauchery encouraged by an allowance 
to those called unmarried mothers: nearly six thou- 
sand divorces within the single city of Paris, within 
a little more than two years after the law authorized 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 

them; — in a word, whatever is most obscene in vice, 
and most dreadful in ferocity!"* If these be the 
genuine fruits of. atheism, then let us rather have 
superstition in its most appalling form. Between 
atheism and superstition there is this great difference ; 
the latter may authorize some crimes, the former 
opens the flood-gates to all. The one restrains par- 
tially, the other removes all restraint from vice. 
Every kind of religion presents some terrors to evil 
doers; atheism promises complete immunity, and 
stamps virtue itself with the character of folly. 

But we must not suppose that the whole mass of 
the French people became atheists during this period. 
Far from it. A large majority viewed the whole 
scene with horror and detestation; but the atheistical 
philosophers had the power in their hands; and, 
though a small minority of the nation, were able to 
effect so much mischief. But from this example we 
may conjecture what must be the state of things, if 
the whole mass of people in a nation should become 
atheists, or be freed from all the restraints of con- 
science and religion. Such an event will never occur, 
but if it should, all must acknowledge that no greater 
calamity could be imagined. It would be a lively 
picture of hell upon earth; for what is there in the 
idea of hell more horrible than the absence of all re- 
straint and all hope, and the uncontrolled dominion 
of the most malignant passions? But there would 
be one remarkable point of difference, for while athe- 
ists deny the God that made them, the inhabitants 

Of hell BELIEVE AND TREMBLE. 

* Gregoire. 



24 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 



CHAPTER III. 



IF CHRISTIANITY BE REJECTED, THERE IS NO OTHER RELIGION WHICH CAN 
BE SUBSTITUTED IN ITS PLACE; AT LEAST NO OTHER WHICH WILL AT 
ALL ANSWER THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH RELIGION IS DESIRABLE. 

It has been proved in the former section, that it is 
necessary to have some religion. We are already in 
possession of Christianity, which, by the confession of 
deists themselves, answers many valuable purposes. 
It behoves us, therefore, to consider well what we 
are likely to obtain by the exchange, if we should 
relinquish it. If any man can show us a better reli- 
gion, and founded on better evidences, we ought to 
give it up willingly; but if this cannot be done, then 
surely it is not reasonable to part with a certain good, 
without receiving an equivalent. This would be, as 
if some persons sailing on the ocean in a vessel which 
carried them prosperously, should determine to aban- 
don it without knowing that there was any other to 
receive them, merely because some of the passengers, 
pretending to skill, suggested that it was leaky, and 
would sooner or later founder. 

Let the enemies of Christianity tell us plainly what 
their aim is, and what they design to substitute in 
the place of the Bible. This, however, they are un- 
able to perform : and yet they would have us to con- 
sent to give up our dearest hopes without knowing 
what we are to receive, or whether we are to receive 
any thing to compensate for the loss. 

This is a point of vital importance, and demands 
our most serious attention. If it is really intended to 
substitute some other religion in the place of Chris- 
tianity, we ought certainly, before we make the ex- 
change, to have the opportunity of examining its 
claims, that we may know whether it will be likely 
to answer the purposes for which religion is wanted. 
To bring this subject fairly into view, let us take a 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 25 

survey of the world, and inquire, what it has to pro- 
pose for our selection, if we should renounce Chris- 
tianity. 

There are only three things, in that event, among 
which we must choose. The first, to adopt some of 
the existing or some of the exploded systems of Pa- 
ganism; the second, to accept the Koran instead of 
the Bible; and the third, to embrace Natural Reli- 
gion or pure deism. 

Few men have had the effrontery to propose a 
return to Paganism; yet even this has not been too 
extravagant for some whose names stand high as 
men of literature. The learned Gibbon has not, that 
I recollect, expressed his opinion on this subject 
explicitly; but it may be fairly inferred, from many 
things in his History of the Decline and Fall of the 
Roman empire, that he deeply regretted the subver- 
sion of the old Pagan systems, and that the progress 
of Christianity was far from affording him any plea- 
sure. 

But although he makes it sufficiently manifest that, 
could his wishes have governed past events, the old 
systems would never have been disturbed, and Chris- 
tianity never have had a footing; yet we cannot say 
whether he would have given his vote to have the 
temples rebuilt and the Pagan rites restored. It is 
difficult to tell what he wished to accomplish by his 
opposition to Christianity; or whether he had any 
definite view, except to manifest his hatred to the 
gospel and its Author. 

Taylor, the learned translator of Plato, openly 
avowed his predilection for the religion of the Athe- 
nian philosopher, and his wish that it might be re- 
vived; and speaks in contemptuous terms of Chris- 
tianity, in comparison with Platonism; but he never 
could have supposed that to be a suitable religion 
for the bulk of men, which had not the least influ- 
ence upon them while the philosoper lived. This, 
then, would be no substitute for Christianity ; for un- 
der its benign influence, even the poor have the 
gospel preached unto them. But I have no doubt 

3 



26 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

that, if the truth could be ascertained, we should find 
that this sublime genius derived some of his best 
ideas directly or indirectly from the Scriptures; and 
that if he had lived under the light of the gospel, he 
would never have spoken of it as his translator has 
done. 

In the time of the revolution in France, after some 
trial had been made of having no religion, D'Auber- 
menial proposed a new religion, in imitation of the 
ancient Persians. His plan was to have the Deity 
represented by a perpetual fire and offerings made to 
him of fruits, oil, and salt; and libations poured out 
to the four elements. It was prescribed, that worship 
should be celebrated daily in the temple, that every 
ninth day should be a Sabbath, and that on certain 
festivals all ages should unite in dances. A few 
fanatics in Paris and elsewhere, actually adopted the 
new religion, but they were unable to attract any 
notice, and in a little time it sunk into merited obli- 
vion. 

It has been common enough to set up the Moham- 
medan religion in a sort of rival comparison with 
Christianity, but I do not know that any have gone 
so far as to prefer the Koran to the Bible, except 
those few miserable apostates, who, after being long 
" tossed about with every wind of doctrine," at 
length threw themselves into the arms of the Arabi- 
an impostor. How far this religion can bear a com 
parison with Christianity, will be seen in the sequel. 

Deism, then, or Natural Religion, is the only hope 
of the world, if the Christian Religion be rejected. 
The first English deists extolled Natural Religion to 
the skies, as a system which contained all that man 
needed to know; and as being simple and intelligible 
to the meanest capacity. But strange to tell, scarce- 
ly any two of them are agreed what Natural Reli- 
gion is; and the same discordance has existed among 
their successors. They are not agreed even in those 
points which are most essential in religion, and most 
necessary to be settled before any religious worship 
can be instituted. They differ on such points as 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 27 

these ; whether there is any intrinsic difference be- 
tween right and wrong; whether God pays any re- 
gard to the affairs of men; whether the soul is im- 
mortal; whether prayer is proper and useful; and 
whether any external rites of worship are neces- 
sary. 

Again, if deism be the true religion, why has piety 
never flourished among its professors? why have 
they not been the most zealous and consistent wor- 
shippers of God? Does not truth promote piety? 
and will it not ever be the case that they who hold 
the truth will love God most ardently, and serve him 
most faithfully? But what is the fact in regard to 
this class of men? Have they ever been distinguish- 
ed for their spirit of devotion ; have they produced 
numerous instances of exemplary piety? It is so 
much the reverse, that even the asking such reason- 
able questions has the appearance of ridicule. And 
when people hear the word " pious deist," they 
have the same sort of feeling as when mention is 
made of an honest thief, or a sober drunkard. 

There is no slander in making this statement, for 
deists do not affect to be pious. They have no love 
for devotion. If the truth were known, this is the 
very thing they wish to get rid of ; and if they be- 
lieved that professing themselves to be deists laid 
them under greater obligations to be devout, they 
would not be so zealous for the system. Believe me, 
the contest is not between one religion and another, 
it is between religion and irreligion. It is impossible 
that a man of truly pious temper should reject the 
Bible, even if he were unacquainted with its histori- 
cal evidences. He would find it to be so congenial 
to his taste, and so salutary in its effects on his own 
spirit, that he would conclude that it must have deri- 
ved its origin from heaven. But we find no such 
spirit in the writings of deists. There is not in them 
a tincture of piety; but they have more than a sprink- 
ling of profane ridicule. When you turn to them 
from the Bible, you are sensible of as great a transi- 
tion, as if you passed suddenly from a warm and 



28 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

genial climate into the frigid zone. If deists expect 
ever to conciliate regard for their religion they must 
appear to be truly pious men, sincerely engaged in 
the service of God; and this will have more effect 
than all their arguments. But whenever this event 
shall occur, they will be found no longer opposing 
the Bible, but will esteem it as the best of books, and 
will come to it for fuel to feed the flame of pure 
devotion. An African prince, who was brought to 
England and resided there some time, being asked 
what he thought of the Bible, answered, that he 
believed it to be from God, for he found all the 
good people in favour of it, and all the bad people 
against it ! 

The want of a spirit of piety and devotion, must 
be reckoned the principal reason why the deists have 
never been able to establish and keep up any reli- 
gious worship among themselves. The thing has 
been attempted at several different times and in dif- 
ferent countries, but never with success. 

It is said, that the first enterprise of this kind was 
that of David Williams, an Englishman, who had 
been a dissenting minister in Liverpool, but passing 
over first to Socinianism, and then to deism, went to 
London, where, being patronized by some persons 
of influence, he opened a house for deistical worship, 
and formed a liturgy, consisting principally of praise 
to the Creator. Here he preached for a short time, 
and collected some followers; but he complained 
that most of his congregation went on to atheism. 
After four years' trial, the scheme came to nothing. 
There were neither funds nor congregation remain- 
ing, and the Priest of Nature, (as Williams styled 
himself) through discouragement and ill health, aban- 
doned the project. 

Some feeble attempts of the same kind have been 
made in the United States; but they are unworthy 
of being particularly noticed. 

Frederick II., the deistical king of Prussia, had 
once formed the plan of a Pantheon in Berlin for the 
worshippers of all sects and all religions, the chief 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 29 

object of which was the subversion of Christianity; 
but the scheme was never carried into execution. 

The most interesting experiment of this kind was 
that made by the Theophilanthropists in France, 
during the period of the revolution. After some trial 
had been made of atheism and irreligion, and when 
the want of public worship was felt by many reflect- 
ing persons, a society was formed for "the worship of 
God, upon the pure principles of Natural Religion. 
Among the patrons of this society, were men beloved 
for their philanthropy, and distinguished for their 
learning, and some high in power. 

La Revelliere Lepaux, one of the directory of 
France, was a zealous patron of the new religion. 
By his influence, permission was obtained to make 
use of the churches for their worship. In the city 
of Paris alone, eighteen or twenty were assigned to 
them, among which was the cathedral church of 
Notre Dame. 

Their creed was simple, consisting of two great 
articles, the existence of God, and the immor- 
tality of the soul. Their moral system also em- 
braced two great principles, the love of God, and 
the love of man ; — which were indicated by the 
name Theophilanthropists. Their worship consisted 
of prayers and hymns of praise, which were compre- 
hended in a manual prepared for a directory in wor- 
ship. Lectures were delivered by the members, 
which, however, underwent the inspection of the 
society, before they were pronounced in public. To 
these were added some simple ceremonies, such as 
placing a basket of fruit and flowers on the altar. 
Music, vocal and instrumental, was used; for the 
latter, they availed themselves of the organs in the 
churches. Great efforts were made to have this 
worship generally introduced in all the principal 
towns in France ; and the views of the society were 
even extended to foreign countries. Their manual 
was sent into all parts of the republic by the Minister 
of the interior, free of expense. 

Never did a society enjoy greater advantages at 



30 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

its commencement. Christianity had been rejected 
with scorn; atheism had for a short time been tried, 
but was found to be intolerable ; the government 
was favourable to the project; men of learning and 
influence patronized it, and churches ready built 
were at the service of the new denomination. The 
system of Natural Religion which was adopted was 
the best that could have been selected, and consider- 
able wisdom was discovered in the construction of 
their liturgy. But with all these circumstances in 
their favour, the society could not subsist. At first, 
indeed, while the scene was novel, large audiences 
attended, most of whom however were merely spec- 
tators; but in a short time, they dwindled away to 
such a degree, that instead of occupying twenty 
churches in Paris, they needed only four; and in 
some of the provincial towns, where they began 
under the most favourable auspices, they soon came 
to nothing. Thus they went on declining until, 
under the consular government, they were prohibited 
the use of the churches any longer; upon which they 
immediately expired without a struggle, and it is 
believed that not a vestige of the society now re- 
mains. 

It will be instructive and interesting to inquire 
into the reasons of this want of success, in a society 
enjoying so many advantages. Undoubtedly, the 
chief reason was, the want of a truly devotional 
spirit. This was observed from the beginning of 
their meetings. There was nothing to interest the 
feelings of the heart. Their orators might be men 
of learning, and might produce good moral discourses, 
but they were not men of piety, and not always men 
of pure mor&ls. Their hymns were said to be well 
composed, and the music good; but the musicians 
were hired from the stage. There was also a strange 
defect of liberality in contributing to the funds of the 
society. They found it impossible to raise, in some 
of their societies, a sum which every Christian con- 
gregation, even the poorest of any sect, would have 
collected in one day. It is a fact, that one of the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 31 

societies petitioned government to grant them relief 
from a debt which they had contracted in providing 
the apparatus of their worship, not amounting to 
more than fifty dollars, stating, that their annual 
income did not exceed twenty dollars. In the other 
towns their musicians deserted them, because they 
were not paid, and frequently no person could be 
found to deliver lectures. 

Another difficulty arose which might have been 
foreseen. Some of the societies declared themselves 
independent, and would not agree to be governed 
by the manual which had been received, any further 
than they chose. They also remonstrated against 
the authority exercised by the lecturers in the affairs 
of the society, and declared that there was danger 
of their forming another hierarchy. There were also 
complaints against them addressed to the ministers 
by the agents of government in the provinces, on 
account of the influence which they might acquire in 
civil affairs. 

The Theophilanthropists were moreover censured 
by those who had made great advances in the mod- 
ern philosophy, for their illiberality. It was com- 
plained that there were many who could not receive 
their creed, and all such must necessarily be excluded 
from their society. This censure seems to have trou- 
bled them much, and in order to wipe off the stigma 
they appointed a fete, which they called the anniver- 
sary of the re-establishment of Natural Religion. To 
prove that their liberality had no bounds, they pre- 
pared five banners to be carried in procession. On 
the first was inscribed the word, Religion ; on the 
second, Morality: and on the others, respectively, 
Jews, Catholics, Protestants. When the pro- 
cession was over, the bearers of the several banners 
gave each other the kiss of peace; and that none 
might mistake the extent of their liberality, the ban- 
ner inscribed Morality was borne by a professed 
atheist, universally known as such in Paris. They 
had also other festivals peculiar to themselves, and 
four in honour of the following persons ; Socrates, 



32 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

St. Vincent de Paul, J. J. Rousseau, and Washing- 
ton : — a strange conjunction of names truly.* 

I have been thus particular in giving an account 
of this society, because the facts furnish the strongest 
confirmation of my argument, and are in themselves 
curious and instructive. After the failure of this 
enterprise, deists will scarcely attempt again to in- 
stitute any form of public worship. 

But among those philosophers who believe in the 
perfectibility of human nature under the fostering 
influence of increasing knowledge and good govern- 
ment, there is a vague theory of a kind of mental, 
philosophical religion, which needs the aid of no 
external forms. The primary articles of their creed 
are, that religion is a thing entirely between God 
and every man's conscience ; that all our Creator 
requires is the homage of the heart; that if we feel 
reverence, gratitude, and submission towards him, 
and act our part well in society, we have fulfilled 
our duty; that we cannot know how we may be 
disposed of hereafter, and ought not to be anxious 
about the matter. Whether this is expected to be 
the religion of philosophers only, or also of the un- 
learned and the great mass of labouring people, I am 
unable to say. But I know that such a system as 
this will, to a large majority of every community, 
be equivalent to no religion at all. The great body 
of the people must have something tangible, some- 
thing visible, in their religion. They need the aid 
of the senses, and of the social principle, to fix their 
attention, to create an interest, and to excite the 
feelings of devotion. The truth is, that if the heart 
be affected with lively emotions of piety, it will be 
pleasant, it will be useful, and it will be natural, to 
give them expression. This will hold in regard to 
philosophers and men of learning, as well as others. 
Wherever a number of persons participate in the 
same feelings, there is a strong inclination to hold 
communion together ; and if sentiments of genuine 

* Histoire de la Theophilanthropie, par. M. Gregoire. — See Quar- 
terly Review for January, 1823. 






EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 33 

piety exist in the bosoms of many, they will delight 
to celebrate in unison the praises of that Being whom 
they love and adore. There is no reason why pious 
emotions more than others should be smothered, and 
the tendency to express them counteracted. Such 
indeed will never be the fact. " Out of the abund- 
ance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Piety, it is 
true, consists essentially in the exercises of the heart; 
but that religion which is merely mental, is suspi- 
cious ; at best very feeble ; is not likely to produce 
any permanent effect on the character or comfort of 
the person entertaining it; and cannot be useful to 
others in the way of example. 

In the year 1802, when Christianity, which had 
been proscribed in France, was restored by an act 
of government, a speech was delivered by one of 
the counsellors of state which contains excellent 
sentiments on the subject here treated. One or two 
extracts will not be unacceptable to the reader. 
" Science can never be partaken of but by a small 
number, but by religion one may be instructed with- 
out being learned. The Natural Religion to which 
one may rise by the effects of a cultivated reason, is 
merely abstract and intellectual, and unfit for any 
people. It is revealed religion which points out all 
the truths that are useful to men who have neither 
time nor means for laborious disquisitions. Who 
then would wish to dry up that sacred spring of 
knowledge which diffuses good maxims, brings them 
before the eyes of every individual, and communi- 
cates to them that authoritative and popular dress, 
without which they would be unknown to the mul- 
titude and almost to all men ? For want of a reli- 
gious education for the last ten years, our children 
are without any ideas of a divinity, without any 
notion of what is just and unjust; hence arise bar- 
barous manners, hence a people becomes ferocious. 
One cannot but sigh over the lot which threatens the 
present and future generations. Alas! what have 
we gained by deviating from the path pointed out 
to us by our ancestors? What have we gained by 



34 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

substituting vain and abstract doctrines for the creed 
which actuated the minds of Turenne, Fenelon, and 
Pascal ?" The unhappy condition of that genera- 
tion who grew up after this time in France, in regard 
to religion, is repeatedly noticed by Allison, in his 
history of Europe. 

I think enough has now been said to establish, be- 
yond all reasonable doubt, our second proposition, 
that if Christianity be rejected, there is no other re- 
ligion which can be substituted in its place, or at 
least, no other which can at all answer the purpose 
for which religion is desirable. 

It may also be observed, in conclusion, that the 
facts which have been adduced, not only serve to 
confirm this proposition, but furnish new and cogent 
arguments in proof of the proposition maintained in 
the preceding chapter. 



CHAPTER IV. 



REVELATION NECESSARY TO TEACH US HOW TO WORSHIP GOD ACCEPTABLY 

THE NATURE AND CERTAINTY OF A FUTURE STATE, AND ESPECIALLY 

THE METHOD BY WHICH SINNERS MAY OBTAIN SALVATION. 



It would be superfluous here to repeat what was 
said in the preceding chapter, respecting the need in 
which man stood of a revelation when he first pro- 
ceeded from the 'hands of his Creator. The object 
which we have, at present, in view, is, to inquire, 
whether man, in the condition in which we now find 
him, and in which history informs us he has existed 
for ages, does not stand in urgent need of more light 
than he possesses ; and whether there are not some 
points of vital importance, concerning which he must 
remain in the dark, unless the knowledge of the truth 
is communicated to him by a revelation from God. 
Let it be understood, however, in what sense it is 



i 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 35 

asserted, that a revelation is necessary. Of course, 
it is not meant that there is any natural necessity for 
such an event ; nor is it intended that God is obliged 
by any necessity to grant a revelation. The neces- 
sity contended for relates altogether to the wants of 
man. It is found, that in all times and under all 
circumstances, he needs information, which he cannot 
obtain from the unassisted exercise of his own rea- 
son; or at least not so satisfactorily, as from divine 
revelation. 

For even if it were possible for a few philosophers 
of the highest order of intellect, by long and profound 
investigation, to discover all the truths absolutely 
necessary to be known; yet, for the bulk of mankind, 
it might be all important to have these same things 
made known by divine revelation, because the great 
majority of our race have neither leisure nor ability 
for such tedious and difficult researches. But the 
truth as made known by history is, that on those 
very points on which it is most needful that man 
should be instructed, the wise men of this world have 
been as much at a loss as the vulgar. They reasoned 
much, and speculated as far as human intellect could 
go, but instead of clearly ascertaining trftth, they 
rested at last in mere conjecture, or deviated into 
gross error. 

Again, if the light of nature were sufficient to shed 
some light on the great truths needful to be known 
by man; yet a clear well-attested communication 
from heaven, might be of the greatest utility, by 
speaking decisively and authoritatively, in regard to 
matters concerning which the conclusions of reason 
are feeble and uncertain. To affect the conscience 
and influence the heart, it is highly important that 
religious truth should be attended with certainty, and 
should be felt to possess the sanction of divine autho- 
rity. What men discover by the slow deductions of 
reason is found to operate feebly on the conscience, 
compared with the persuasion that God speaks to 
us immediately by divine revelation. In reasoning 
about the most important truths men differ exceed- 






36 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

ingly from one another: and this very circumstance 
spreads doubt and uncertainty over all their specula- 
tions. When we peruse the discourses of the wisest 
of the heathen sages, and observe what darkness 
surrounded them, we cannot but feel commisera- 
tion for the imbecility of the human intellect ; and, 
indeed, the best of them were deeply convinced of 
the insufficiency of their own reason to guide them ; 
and sometimes seemed to entertain a glimmering 
hope, that at some future period, and in some un- 
known way, divine instruction might be communi- 
cated to the erring children of men. 

It is also more than probable that the clearest and 
most important ideas, which the heathen philosophers 
entertained, were not the discoveries of their own 
reason, or a light struck out from an observation of 
the works of nature, but rays of truth derived more 
remotely or more directly from divine revelation, as 
has been remarked in another part of this essay. 
The heathen sages attributed all their knowledge to 
tradition. 

But after all, it is an undeniable fact, that reason, 
aided as it was by tradition, left men to grope in the 
dark, an* to fall into the most degrading idolatry. — 
Indeed, though reason may teach that there is a God, 
and that he ought to be worshipped; yet of what 
kind his worship should be in order to be acceptable, 
she never has made known, nor is it within the reach 
of her ability. All the rites of worship invented by 
man are altogether unworthy of God: and, truly, it 
is in the nature of things impossible, that men should 
devise a form of acceptable worship, for no service 
of this kind which he has not himself appointed, 
can be pleasing in the sight of God. Now, if men 
have lost the knowledge of the original institutions 
of religion ; or, if these have become altogether cor- 
rupt, there must be a new revelation, before man 
will be able to render an acceptable service to his 
Creator. There is good reason to believe that many 
of the heathen rites of worship are nothing but cor- 
ruptions of divine institutions, which were given to 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 37 

men by an early revelation. This seems especially 
to be the fact, in relation to sacrifices, which consti- 
tuted an essential part of the worship of almost all 
ancient nations, and some vestiges of which have 
come down by tradition among the most barbarous 
tribes. Reason certainly never taught men that 
shedding the blood and taking away the life of an 
animal, could be an acceptable sacrifice to the Deity; 
or that presenting it on an altar, and consuming it 
wholly or partially by fire, could be a propitiation 
for sin; and yet these mysterious ceremonies were 
almost as universal as the gift of speech. And be- 
tween the sacrifices of nations, remote from each 
other, there has been remarked a wonderful simi- 
larity in the circumstances of their sacred offerings; 
in the erection of altars; in the pouring out of the 
blood; in dividing the animal into pieces; in com- 
bining the offering of salt, wine, bread, and incense, 
with the sacrifice of animals; in considering the 
blood and death of the victim, as expiatory for sin; 
in having an order of priesthood to officiate in these 
sacred rites, who were solemnly consecrated to the 
service, and considered more holy than other men; 
and when only a small part of the animal sacrificed 
was consumed by fire, in feasting on the remainder, 
within the precincts of the temple or sacred enclo- 
sure. This analogy may be traced even in the 
names, by which similar sacrifices were denominated 
among different nations. These and many other 
striking resemblances in the rites of ancient nations, 
go to prove, incontestably, that they must have had 
a common origin; and no account of this is half so 
probable as that which ascribes sacrificial rites to an 
original revelation. And hence we see the credibility 
of the Mosaic history in regard to the origin of reli- 
gious worship. 

But supposing that any heathen nation should now 
be convinced of the absurdity of idolatry, and should 
become sensible of their obligations to render some 
kind of external homage to the great Creator, by 

4 



38 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

what means could they learn what sort of service 
would be acceptable? Reason could not teach them 
what rites should be observed. Without a revelation 
from God, they must for ever remain without a form 
of worship ; or if they attempted to invent certain 
rites, all experience teaches that these human inven- 
tions will ever be marked by human weakness, and 
reason herself intimates, that no worship, not ap- 
pointed by God, can be acceptable to him. It appears 
then, that even if man were not a sinner, he would 
need a divine revelation to teach him how to render 
an acceptable worship to his Creator. 

Some infidel writers have pretended that it is a 
matter of indifference by what rites God is worship- 
ped, and that he is equally pleased with the services 
of all nations, however different from each other in 
their mode of worship. This doctrine is utterly in- 
consistent with the dictates of sound reason. Upon 
this principle even human sacrifices, which have 
been so common in the world, would be justified. 
And the most impure and abominable rites would 
be sanctioned by the Deity. The whole worship of 
Pagan nations, both in ancient and modern times, 
is detestable ; and no one who has any just concep- 
tions of the attributes of God, can persuade himself 
that he ever could be pleased with services so cha- 
racterized by cruelty, impurity, and folly. Their 
worship is not directed to the true God, but to the 
false deities of their own invention. They sacrifice 
not to God but to devils. They have substituted for 
the august Creator, creatures of almost every kind 
and species. No man under the government of rea- 
son can look into any heathen temple without being 
shocked and confounded, with the degrading and 
abominable rites of idolatry. The more this subject 
is contemplated the more clearly will the necessity 
of divine revelation be felt, and the greater will ap- 
pear to be its value to the human race. Who can 
read an account of the mythology and idolatry of the 
ancient Egyptians, or of the modern Hindoos, and 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITT. 39 

not be deeply impressed with the necessity of some- 
thing to dispel this horrible darkness, and break 
asunder these cruel bonds of superstition ? 

Another argument for the necessity of a divine 
revelation is, that without it man must remain igno- 
rant of his origin and his end, and utterly unable to 
account for the circumstances by which he is sur- 
rounded. He finds himself here upon the earth, and 
feels that he is borne along the stream of time with 
the rest of his generation, towards a dark gulf be- 
fore him, which he perceives he can by no means 
escape. But when he inquires respecting the origin 
of the human race, when he seeks a solution of the 
enigma of his sinful, suffering, and mortal existence, 
he finds no one among the living or the dead, from 
whom he can obtain the least satisfactory informa- 
tion. All the traditions and histories of men are full 
of fables; and if they contain some rays of truth, 
they are so mingled with error that no man can dis- 
tinguish the one from the other. Leave out of view 
the history contained in the Bible, and all that we 
can learn from others casts not a solitary ray of light 
on the points under consideration. We have no 
means of tracing up our race to its origin, and the 
deist can give no rational account of the wickedness 
of men and of their sufferings and death. The dark- 
ness and uncertainty resting on these subjects have 
led many who rejected the authority of the Bible, to 
adopt most absurd and atheistical hypotheses respect- 
ing the origin of man. Some have professed to be- 
lieve that the earth and its inhabitants have existed 
from all eternity; which is too absurd to require re- 
futation. Others have amused themselves and their 
readers with the idea, that originally mankind were 
merely a species of monkey or baboon, and that by 
degrees they laid aside their brutal appearance and 
manners, and certain inhuman appendages, and 
having in process of time invented language and the 
arts most necessary to provide for the clothing and 
shelter of the body, gradually rose higher and higher 
in the scale of improvement, until they arrived at 



40 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

that pitch of refinement and civilization, which has 
been attained by the most polished nations. These, 
it is true, are rather atheistical than deistical hy- 
potheses ; but they serve to show how little light 
reason can shed on this subject, and how much we 
need a divine revelation. For the deist can form no 
theory which can satisfy our reasonable desires. 
He can give no good reason for the moral condition 
and mortality of our race. He may say, that it is 
the law of nature ; but this is merely to declare the 
fact, not to account for it. 

But we might, perhaps, be contented to remain 
ignorant of our origin, if we could know what is to 
be our destiny hereafter, and how far it is connected 
with our present character and conduct. Reason 
has exerted and exhausted all her resources to de- 
monstrate a future existence, and to place the im- 
mortality of the soul on an immovable basis. But 
what has been the result of all these reasonings? 
Why, a possibility, or, to say the most, a strong pro- 
bability, that the soul survives the body. But this, 
of all others, is the point, on which we want certain- 
ty — absolute certainty. How painful to be involved 
in a cloud of doubt and suspense, when we look for- 
ward to futurity; and, especially, when descending 
into the grave, to have nothing to lay hold of but the 
conclusions and conjectures of our own feeble rea- 
son ! That I do not depreciate the force of the argu- 
ments for the souPs immortality, will appear from 
the fact, that many of the heathen philosophers held 
that the soul died with the body ; that of those who 
believed in a future existence, some were of opinion, 
that after the lapse of a thousand years or some 
longer period, it would come to an end ; others — 
and these very numerous — believed in the doctrine 
of metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls 
from the body of one animal to that of another, in 
perpetual succession; and more still had no other 
idea of immortality, than that the soul — which they 
thought was a particle of deity — would at death be 
refunded into the divine essence ; which was virtu- 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 41 

ally to deny its future existence, as to its distinct per- 
sonality, or as possessing individuality and conscious- 
ness. Even such men as Socrates, Plato, and Cice- 
ro, had no clear, consistent, and satisfactory views 
of this interesting subject; not because they neglect- 
ed to exercise their cultivated and powerful intellects 
upon it ; for it was a subject, which more than all 
others engaged their thoughts ; — but because it was 
surrounded by a darkness which unassisted reason 
could not penetrate. how glad would these sages 
have been to possess one ray of that revelation 
which our infidels foolishly despise ! The earlier 
deists generally admitted the doctrine of a future 
state of retribution, and affected to believe that rea- 
son was sufficient to establish the doctrine; but their 
successors in modern times, or at least a large ma- 
jority of them, have either denied or called in ques- 
tion this fundamental doctrine. And if we should 
weigh impartially all the arguments which have 
ever been adduced in ancient or modern times to 
establish this point, we should be obliged to confess 
that we need further light. And from the very na- 
ture of the case, no one can give us an absolute 
assurance of our future and immortal existence, but 
God alone. It is an event which depends on his 
will and nothing else. Arguments may be adduced 
to prove that the soul is naturally immortal; but 
they prove no more than this, that the causes which 
effect the dissolution of the body, can have no ten- 
dency to destroy the existence and activity of the 
soul. And what are called the moral arguments 
only go to prove that if God exercises a moral go- 
vernment over his creatures here, there must be a 
place for a just retribution hereafter. But we want, 
on this point, more certainty. We want one to 
come from the other world to tell us that there is a 
future state. We want to hear the voice of God 
testifying that there is not only a future state, but a 
day of righteous judgment. Here every man can 
judge for himself, whether he needs a revelation. 

This argument for the necessity of a divine reve- 

4* 



42 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

lation, will be corroborated by observing the state 
of religion and morals among all heathen nations. 
It has often been remarked, that the most certain 
method of ascertaining what reason is capable of ac- 
complishing is to see what she has actually done in 
time past, especially, when enjoying all the advan- 
tages of high culture and extensive information. In 
physical science we may expect new discoveries by 
the exercise of reason; and the science of morals 
may in time to come be better understood ; but if all 
nations, the most civilized and learned as well as the 
rude and barbarous, have utterly failed in forming 
correct opinions on the most essential points of theo- 
logy and ethics, and have all fallen into the most 
absurd and degrading errors, and acquiesced in the 
most abominable and impure rites of idolatry; then, 
what can be more evident, than that they needed a 
divine revelation? Probably one reason why the 
nations were left so long to walk in their own ways, 
was, to convince us of our own imbecility, and to 
prepare us to receive gratefully when offered, this 
most comprehensive gift of God. 

To do justice to this argument would require 
volumes; but as the subject has been amply treated 
by Leland, and others, I will pass it over, only re- 
marking, that the abominable rites of Pagan wor- 
ship, and the shocking cruelties and impurities which 
have ever been perpetrated under the sanction of 
every heathen religion, make but a faint impression 
on our minds, because we only hear the distant re- 
port of these things, and are often tempted to think 
that the narrative of these horrible doings must be 
too highly coloured ; but the half, and far more than 
the half, remains untold, and cannot be publicly told, 
without outrageously offending against decency. It 
is an awful thought, that for so long a time so many 
millions of our fellow creatures have been under the 
cruel bondage of superstition, a slavery which affects 
the mind, and is productive of more human misery 
than all other causes. As Paganism still exists, and 
as its evils are unmitigated by the lapse of time, it is 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 43 

an easy matter to compare the Christian with the 
heathen world. Cast your eye over the map of the 
earth, and say, where is found the densest darkness ? 
Where does the light of truth shine ? Is not the 
line of demarkation between light and darkness 
visible ? And is it not as evident as any thing can 
be, that the Bible is a rich blessing to all who possess 
and read it ? We might here also institute a com- 
parison between those Christian nations which free- 
ly circulate the Scriptures, and those who lock them 
up in a dead language; but this we omit, and go on 
to remark, that he who is informed of the events 
which have occurred on missionary ground, in our 
own times, must have his eyes covered with thick 
scales of prejudice, if he does not acknowledge 
that the gospel is the richest benefit which can be 
conferred on Pagan nations. Either then, a vile 
imposture, a cunningly devised fable, has the power 
of reforming and civilizing the most degraded of the 
heathen tribes; or Christianity is a Divine Revela- 
tion, and is still accompanied by the power of God, 
making it effectual to the illumination, conversion, 
and salvation of the Gentiles. Let the deist take his 
choice between these two things. But here let me 
ask, whether if a company of deists had gone out 
to Africa or to the Society or Sandwich Islands, 
any such reformation would have been wrought? 
The reader will smile at the idea of a deist turning 
missionary to the heathen; but this very feeling 
demonstrates that deism is not to be the means of 
regenerating the world. If the deist were right he 
would be the only proper person to send on a mis- 
sion to convert the idolatrous world. But all are 
ready to pronounce the very idea to be ludicrous. 
What! a missionary society of deists ! Why, they 
have no confidence in their own principles, in this 
respect, and no zeal for propagating them in such a 
field, and with such sacrifices as the Christian wil- 
lingly makes. 

But why should I go to distant and heathen lands, 
to prove that a revelation is necessary, when we 



44 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

have proof enough before our eyes? In any of our 
populous cities we may draw a visible line between 
that part of the population who are under the light 
of evangelical truth, and those who place themselves 
out of the reach of all the direct rays of the gospel. 
Between these two extremes there is a large class 
not properly reckoned with either; but let us, with- 
out caring for exact accuracy in our computation, 
suppose, that one-third of the adult population are 
regular church-going people, who hear the leading 
truths of the gospel from Sabbath to Sabbath; and 
that another third seldom or never attend any place 
of public worship. Between these two classes of 
citizens we can institute a comparison. Exceptions 
you may have to make on both sides, but taking 
them in mass, is there any room to doubt whether 
religion is useful and necessary? From which of 
these classes are our prisons crowded with inmates? 
Suppose, first, that all those who never read the Bi- 
ble, and frequent no place of worship, were removed 
from among us, would the state of society be melio- 
rated or deteriorated? Or again, suppose that all the 
church-going people should be translated to another 
country, what would then be the condition of society? 
If I am not egregiously erroneous in my calculations, 
on the former supposition we should be able to dis- 
pense with most of our means of coercion and re- 
straint, and would save the enormous expense of 
keeping up such an array of courts, police-officers, 
and prisons. On the latter supposition, all the wealth 
of the country would be insufficient to provide places 
of confinement and means of support for the guilty; 
or, to come nearer to the truth, our large towns 
would soon become as Sodom, or as a den of thieves, 
and soon the doom of Sodom would sink them never 
to rise again. 

But does any one think that this is not a fair state- 
ment of the matter, as it seems to take for granted 
that there is no religion, nor can be any, without 
revelation? I would request the person who makes 
this objection, to tell me what kind of religion might 






EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 45 

be expected if the Bible were banished from among 
us? Suppose that instead of the hundreds of gospel 
preachers, whose voices are lifted up on the first day 
of every week, to warn men of the danger of a sinful 
course, and to point out to them the way of life, all 
these pulpits should be filled with infidel lecturers, 
male and female ; what, in your consciences, do you 
think would be the effect on morals and social hap- 
piness? We all know that many sinners have been 
converted by the faithful preaching of the gospel ; do 
you know, or have you heard of any transgressors 
being turned from the error of their ways by attend- 
ing on deistical lectures, or even on the theatre, that 
boasted school of morality ? No doubt, some of my 
readers have heard of conversions at these places of 
fashionable resort, but not to righteousness, not to 
God. And as I have happened to mention the thea- 
tre, I will further add, that I am far more afraid of 
the moral influence of this institution, than of that of 
deistical and atheistical lectures ; not because it pleads 
for vice — this would not be tolerated — but because 
it draws thousands within the enchanted circle of 
temptation, and plunges thoughtless youth into the 
vortex of sensual pleasure. 

I admit that there may be much religion without 
revelation ; the whole heathen world is a proof of it. 
Some men of the world, indeed, confound all reli- 
gions and all the ministers of religion together, as if 
they were all alike ; whereas, true and false religion 
are as dissimilar as light and darkness; and the only 
effectual barrier to false religion, is to cultivate that 
which is true. Infidelity may serve to sweep away 
one form of superstition, but after a time the tide will 
turn, and enthusiasm or superstition will come in like 
a flood ; for, as we have shown, the people must have 
some sort of religion, and if you banish that which 
is true, rational, sober, and benevolent/ you will soon 
be visited with the most absurd and degrading sys- 
tems of wild fanaticism; and these will, when the 
fires of enthusiasm are extinguished, settle down, or 
rather grow up, into hideous forms of superstition. 



46 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The pagan religions had some mixture of truth de- 
rived from early tradition; for they were all, as we 
have seen, a corruption of the primitive worship of 
fallen man. But banish the Bible, and you will 
have in its place either the dark horrors of atheism, 
accompanied with crime, in her polluted and blood- 
stained robe, or you will have the reign of super- 
stition, chilling every generous emotion, degrading 
every noble affection, and blighting all domestic bliss. 

Sometimes, a splendid temple rests upon a few 
solid pillars, and falls to ruin if they be removed. 
Thus the peace, and order, and comfort of civil so- 
ciety depend much on two institutions, for both of 
which we are indebted to revelation. The first of 
these is the sacred institution of marriage : the 
second is, the religious obligation of an oath or 
solemn affirmation, which is virtually the same thing. 
Remove these, and the fabric of human happiness 
totters at once to its very base. 

But the argument on which I chiefly mean to 
dwell, to evince the necessity of a revelation, is, that 
without it we can never learn how sin can be for- 
given or the sinner saved. Admitting that reason 
can direct us with sufficient clearness in regard to all 
our moral duties; admitting that if a man performs his 
duty, no more is required of him, and he may con- 
fide in the justice and goodness of God ; admitting 
that from this course no evil will ensue, and the suit- 
able reward will not be wanting; admitting all this 
for argument's sake — yea, more, that all men pos- 
sess this knowledge: yet, I maintain, that in relation 
to the state in which man actually is, it amounts to 
nothing. It is one thing to have a system of religion 
which suits the case of an innocent being, and quite 
another to find out a plan by which a sinner can 
obtain forgiveness. A citizen may know full well 
that if he obeys the laws of his country he will be 
protected by all upright magistrates; but if he has 
already violated the laws and incurred a formidable 
penalty, the knowledge mentioned does not reach 
his case. What he needs now is, to know how he 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 47 

can obtain a pardon, and evade the vengeance of the 
violated law. In every such case, there is an abso- 
lute need of a declaration or revelation from the su- 
preme power of the state, of a willingness to pardon, 
on some certain condition. In no government can 
a pardon be a matter of course, or provided for by 
the law itself; for such a provision would be sub- 
versive of all government. It would be a complete 
nullification of the obligation and authority of the 
law. Here then the momentous question occurs, is 
man a sinner? Have all men transgressed the law 
of God ? I am willing to wave the proof of this 
point, for the present, and to leave it to the decision 
of every man's conscience. Is there a man upon 
earth who is not conscious of having violated the 
law of his nature, both by omissions of duty and the 
actual commission of sin ? 

Assuming it then as a fact, that men are sinners, I 
ask, what does the light of nature teach respecting 
the forgiveness of sin? I shall endeavour to demon- 
strate, that reason sheds not a ray of light on this 
fundamental point, and, therefore, that Natural Re- 
ligion, if known ever so perfectly and universally, 
could not bring us the relief which we need. The 
main argument for the position which I have laid 
down, is short and simple. It is the dictate of right 
reason, that God is just, and will render to every 
one according to his character and conduct; and that 
his law being wise and good must not be violated 
with impunity. Can the deist conceive of an objec- 
tion to this principle ? Certainly not. It must be 
considered a self-evident truth by every theist who 
believes in the moral government of God. The case 
is plain, therefore, and so far as the dictates of reason 
extend, the sinner has no prospect before him but to 
suffer the just punishment of his offences, whatever 
that may be. 

To suppose that reason can inform us that God 
will pardon our sins, is to suppose that its dictates 
are contradictory; for, to pardon is the same as not 
to punish ; but as we have just seen, the voice of 



48 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

reason is, that God is just, and will render to every 
man what he deserves. These two things are not 
compatible. Before I proceed further, I must put 
the reader on his guard against loose and illogical 
reasoning on a point so vital. I scarcely know a 
subject on which most men appear to satisfy them- 
selves with more vague and fallacious arguments. 
Some of the more common of these it will be my 
object now to consider. 

In the first place, it is alleged, and with much con- 
fidence asserted by many, that God is a Being of too 
much benevolence and kindness to inflict severe pun- 
ishments on his erring creatures. This suggestion, 
for it has not the shape of an argument, seems to 
give honour to God, while it is very soothing to the 
mind of the sinner. But when it is examined, it will 
be found to be rather an insult than an honour; for 
it supposes that the Ruler of the universe, out of 
kindness to a rebellious creature, will cease to be 
just; that rather than punish offences as they deserve, 
he will dishonour his own law. What sort of com- 
pliment would it be to an upright judge among men, 
to say of him, that his benevolence and compassion 
would surely prevent his inflicting the penalties an- 
nexed to the laws? But if the Judge of all the earth 
does not act upon the principle of punishing all sin 
as it deserves, on what other principle does he act ? 
By punishing it half as much as it deserves? But 
this might be a severe suffering, and therefore the 
conclusion to which this reasoning must lead, is, that 
God's goodness will altogether and for ever prevent 
him from inflicting any punishment on sin, however 
atrocious it may be. 

Many in our days, who are not called deists or 
atheists, but who are more dangerous because they 
mingle some Christian truth with their errors, greed- 
ily embrace and zealously inculcate this very opin- 
ion. But look at its consequences. The infinitely 
perfect God will treat alike the most malignant rebel 
and the most affectionate and obedient servant. He 
will, in his treatment of his creatures, manifest no 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 49 

more displeasure at sin, than he does towards the 
most perfect virtue. If such benevolence as this ex- 
isted, it would be no moral perfection, but a defect. 
But no ; God's attributes are never at variance. 
There is no goodness in God which forbids or 
prevents the fullest exercise of justice. If ever he 
chooses to rescue sinners from the consequences of 
their sins, it will not be by sacrificing his justice, but 
by fully satisfying it. But this is an affair of which 
mere reason knows nothing. If the deist, however, 
should insist that all moral goodness consists in bene- 
volence, and nothing else, and therefore God will not 
punish any but for his own good, I answer that the 
good of the whole is to be preferred by a benevolent 
being to the happiness of an offending individual; 
and in all communities, the general good requires 
that transgressors should be intimidated and restrain- 
ed by punishment; so that it must be proved that 
the good of the universe does not require the pun- 
ishment of the guilty, before any such conclusion can 
be drawn from the benevolence of God. 

It is manifest, therefore, that the suggestion which 
we have been considering, however pleasing to the 
mind in love with sin, and however plausible at first 
sight, will not bear examination, and instead of tend- 
ing to the honour of God, takes from him all that is 
estimable in moral character. It allows him no other 
excellence than an indiscriminate benevolence to his 
creatures, without the least regard to their moral 
character. Such a being would not be an object of 
veneration and esteem to all holy intelligences. An 
infinitely good God may punish transgressors accord- 
ing to the demerit of their crimes, without any dis- 
paragement of his goodness; and an infinitely just 
and holy God must punish sin. " Shall not the Judge 
of all the earth do right ?" 

Another suggestion, supposed by many to be a 
dictate of reason, is, that all the punishments ever 
inflicted on men for their sin is the evil which arises 
out of it from the laws of nature, and the constitution 
of the human mind; and that there is no good ground 

5 



50 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

for any apprehension of any further or greater pen- 
alty. There is no proof adduced of the truth of this 
position, nor does it admit of proof. Who can tell 
what the judge of all may think it necessary to inflict 
hereafter on sinners, for the manifestation of his 
justice, the vindication of his law, and as a terror to 
other offenders? Indeed, as far as we can judge of 
the facts, men do not suffer in this life, in any just 
proportion to their crimes. The wicked are often 
prosperous; and when the conscience becomes cal- 
lous, they experience but little remorse for their worst 
crimes. Transgressors who are only beginning their 
career, experience the agonies of an accusing con- 
science in the keenest manner; while the veteran in 
iniquity has long since ceased to be much troubled 
with these " compunctious visitings." But, suppo- 
sing it true, that all the punishment of sin is that 
which naturally follows it, who can tell what all the 
consequences are, or where they will end? Crimes 
do not always produce their bitterest fruit immedi- 
ately. We see the sins of the intemperate, the lewd, 
and the dishonest, often overtaking them with their 
saddest consequences, long after the acts were com- 
mitted. Sins committed in youth often produce a 
miserable old age. Look into the history of multi- 
tudes whose vices have consigned them to a prison 
or a mad house, and you will find that the cause of 
their wretchedness and disgrace may be traced back 
to the sins of their youth, those very sins which many 
are disposed to regard with so indulgent an eye. 
And as these evils go on increasing until death, who 
can assure the sinner that this fearful progression 
will not continue beyond the grave ? As we are not 
now arguing with atheists, we have a right to assume 
as a truth the soul's future existence; and if it exists 
in conscious activity, will it not carry with it the 
moral character acquired in this world? Will not the 
selfish, the proud, the malignant, be selfish, proud, 
and malignant, when the clay tabernacle is dropped? 
Can death transform a sordid and guilty creature into 
an angel? Will not the man who is wicked up to 



<•"•# 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 51 

the moment of dissolution, continue to be wicked 
after death? Will not he carry with him his memo- 
ry, his conscience, and his craving desires? There 
is then but little comfort for the sinner in this sugges- 
tion, if true ; for he may find springing out of his own 
corruption a worm which will never die, and which 
will gnaw his vitals with as agonizing a pain as any 
which he is capable of enduring. Be it so, that 
conscience is the only fire to be dreaded in another 
world — who can tell us how intense and intermina- 
ble the pain which this principle of our nature is ca- 
pable of inflicting on the sinner? The fear, remorse, 
and horrible perturbation which sometimes surround 
the death-bed of profligate sinners, afford a tremen- 
dous intimation of what they may expect in a future 
state. How great or how long the evil consequences 
of sin may be, our reason certainly cannot tell ; as 
far as her dictates extend, we can see no end to this 
progression in vice and misery. 

But I now come to the consideration of a much 
more specious opinion, on which deists, and others 
who agree with them in these matters, place great 
confidence. It is, that whatever the deserved pen- 
alty of sin may be, reason teaches us that it can be 
set aside, or evaded, by a sincere and seasonable 
repentance. This principle has been assumed as a 
fundamental article in all the systems of sober deists. 
It is well known that Lord Herbert laid it down as 
one of the five positions on which he founded his 
system; and, therefore, as perfectly understood by 
all men. And as many who wish to be considered 
rational Christians adopt the same principle, it has 
gained very general possession of the public mind. 
And again, as pardon and repentance are closely 
connected, according to the doctrines of the Gos- 
pel, this truth of revelation is by many not distin- 
guished from what is considered a dictate of reason ; 
and hence it becomes a matter of real difficulty to 
separate truth from error on this point; and in at- 
tempting it, we must encounter a formidable front 
of prejudice. Before I proceed further, I must re- 



52 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

quest the reader to separate the evangelical doctrine 
of pardon, on repentance, from the deistical principle 
under consideration ; for they stand on entirely dif- 
ferent grounds, as will appear in the course of the 
discussion. 

And here let it be carefully remarked, that before 
this doctrine of reason, as it is called, can become a 
practical principle, two things must be pre-supposed ; 
first, that all men know what that repentance is 
which will insure our pardon; and next, that every 
sinner has ability to perform it. The reasonableness 
of these pre-requisites is self-evident. But great 
difficulty attends the theory, as it relates to these 
points. We would ask whether by that repentance 
which reason inculcates, any thing more is meant 
than sorrow or compunction for our sins ; or whether 
it includes a thorough reformation of life, and that 
not merely extending to external acts, but to the 
motives and affections of the heart. It is also rea- 
sonable to ask, whether any certain degree or con- 
tinuance of sorrow is requisite ; and whether re- 
pentance will not cease to be available, if the sinner 
revert to his former ways of iniquity. Moreover, 
whether repentance, flowing simply from fear of 
punishment, is genuine; and if not, what sort of 
principles it must have as its source. It is also 
needful and important to inquire, whether an invet- 
erate, hardened sinner can repent of his sins, so as 
to hate and forsake them ; and surely no other re- 
pentance is worth any thing. With a mind filled 
with error, his conscience seared, and his habits 
deeply radicated, what hope is there of his turning 
about and commencing a new life? From what 
principle could we anticipate such a change in a 
confirmed villain or debauchee ? You might as rea- 
sonably expect the Ethiopian to change his skin, as 
that he who has been long accustomed to do evil 
should learn to do well. It will answer no purpose 
to say, that he can repent if he will, and if he will 
not, the blame is all his own; for we are inquir- 
ing whether reason can teach a method of salva- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 53 

tion adapted to the condition of sinners, and it mat- 
ters not whether the obstacle be in the will or in 
something else : if it uniformly prevents the desired 
effect, it is plain, that something else is needed. As 
to the blame being on his own head, it is admitted ; 
but this is true in regard to every sin. In every act 
of transgression the sinner is culpable, otherwise it 
would be no sin ; and if the only object be to fix the 
blame upon the culprit, this is sufficiently provided 
for without offering him pardon upon repentance ; 
for life and happiness can be secured without repent- 
ance, if men will only obey the law of God perfectly. 
And there is no greater, nor other inability in the 
way of his doing this, than in the way of his exer- 
cising true penitence. There is manifestly a radical 
defect in the deistical theory on this very point. It 
makes no provision for bringing the sinner to repent- 
ance, but merely offers pardon in case he will do that 
to which his whole heart is averse. And does not 
fact accord with our sentiments? Where are the 
instances of deists repenting of their sins, and yet 
adhering to this system? There are indeed many 
glorious examples of infidels being brought to re- 
pentance and reformation by the Gospel; but I would 
challenge the world to produce an instance of any 
one being brought to repentance, and a thorough 
change of life, merely on the principles of deism. 
And if the principle is in practice utterly ineffectual, 
of what value is it ? and why should it be magnified 
into a matter of so much importance as to be ad- 
duced as a proof that a revelation is not needed? 

As, however, I wish to give a full and impartial 
discussion to this point, I will now, for the sake of 
argument, suppose, that the repentance which is ne- 
cessary to pardon is understood by all men, and that 
all have ability to perform it. The opinion then, is, 
that all sinners by repentance may escape the punish- 
ment justly due to their sins; and this repentance 
they can bring into exercise at any time when it may 
be needed. If this be true, and a dictate of reason, 
then it must be confessed that a revelation is not ab- 

5* • 



54 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

solutely necessary; for what method of salvation can 
be simpler, easier, or more intelligible than this? But 
I deny that any such doctrine belongs to the system 
of Natural Religion, or is dictated by the light of 
reason. This opinion of the efficacy of repentance 
is borrowed from the Gospel, and has been tacked 
to deism, with which it has no coherence. It is alto- 
gether incompatible with the first great fundamental 
principle of natural religion; namely, that God being 
just will render to every one according to his moral 
character and conduct. Deists have ever been in the 
habit of borrowing from revelation, without giving 
credit for what they take, and perhaps, without 
knowing whence the sentiment is derived. Men, 
born and educated under the light of revelation, 
however they may come to reject the Bible and all 
the positive institutions of Christianity, cannot divest 
themselves of all those important moral principles 
which directly or indirectly they have derived from 
this source. The light of divine revelation is widely 
diffused in Christian countries, and has given com- 
plexion to all our laws, institutions, and systems of 
education; so that a man can no more escape entirely 
from its influence than from the effect of the light of 
the sun. Many truths which the deist pretends to 
have discovered by the light of reason, are nothing 
else than the reflected light of divine revelation; for 
how else can you account for it, that the theories and 
moral systems of our sober deists should be so much 
superior to the attainments of Socrates, Plato and 
Cicero ? Their conduct resembles that of a man who 
should light his taper by means of the sun's rays, 
and then pretend that all the light around him he 
had struck out himself, or that it was produced by 
the feeble taper which he held in his hand. 

But to return to the point under discussion. If a 
man, now that he is a sinner, can certainly know 
that the punishment of his sins may be evaded by a 
repentance completely in his own power, he could 
also know this before he sinned. Then, with the 
law written on his heart, and sanctioned with a pen- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 55 

alty, he had the clear knowledge from reason, that 
commit whatever atrocious sins he might, and incur 
whatever punishment he might, he would at any 
and at every moment of his existence, have it in his 
power to escape all the punishment which he had 
merited, simply by the act of repentance. This is a 
plain and fair statement of the case, and it is easy to 
see that it is completely subversive of the law of God 
as a binding rule, and leaves it fully in the power of 
the creature to do whatever he pleases. He may 
deliberately determine that he will rebel against his 
Maker, till the last moment of life, and then disarm 
his vengeance by repentance. The penalty of the 
law may be in itself tremendous, but it can deter no 
one from any course which he may be inclined to 
pursue, because he can at any moment remove him- 
self from its operation. What greater license could 
the most daring rebel wish than what is thus granted? 
This single principle admitted into the moral govern- 
ment of God would be a complete nullification of the 
divine authority. 

These consequences of the doctrine under consid- 
eration are evident and inevitable, and demonstrate 
that it cannot be a principle of reason or natural reli- 
gion. But it may be thought by some, that the same 
objection will lie with all its force against the doc- 
trine of the gospel, which promises a plenary pardon 
to every true penitent. But the evangelical doctrine 
of repentance stands on entirely different grounds. 
That such an offer would be made, could be known 
by no creature before he sinned. This doctrine does 
not in the least clash with the justice of God; for all 
the sins of the penitent, to which pardon is granted, 
are virtually and actually punished in the sinner's 
substitute. Here is the grand point of difference 
between Christianity and all other systems. The 
former maintains the glory and harmony of all the 
divine attributes; the latter obscure or would destroy 
one attribute, to make way for another. The con- 
sequence is, that the way in which pardon is granted 
to the penitent, according to the gospel, has no ten- 



56 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

dency to relax our obligation to obedience, or to 
lessen our sense of the evil of sin; but the deistical 
principle of forgiveness, as we have seen, nullifies 
the law and authority of the Governor of the uni- 
verse, and leaves it completely at the option of the 
creature, whether he will obey or transgress the law 
of God. The former is perfectly consistent with the 
justice of God, extending pardon to no sin for which 
satisfaction has not been made ; while the latter is in 
direct repugnance to the clearest demands of justice. 

Another objection to the opinion that the punish- 
ment of sin is remitted upon repentance is, that this 
is contrary to experience and fact. We have seen 
that the deist is fond of considering the punishment 
of sin as being nothing else but its consequences, 
arising out of the laws of nature. Is it true, then, 
that the laws of nature change their course as soon 
as a sinner repents? Is it not a fact that the penitent 
thief in the jail, and the repentant debauchee in the 
hospital, are still suffering the consequences of their 
crimes long since committed? Repentance cannot 
bring back lost health, ruined reputation, dissipated 
fortune, and alienated friends. How then can the 
deist, on his own principles, pretend that the punish- 
ment of sin is removed by repentance? He may 
allege that the future punishment of sin will be re- 
mitted; but how does he know this? Reason can 
judge nothing in regard to the future, but by some 
analogy with what is observed to take place in this 
life ; and all analogy is against the opinion, that the 
evil consequences of sin will be terminated by death. 

Again, if pardon be granted only to the penitent, 
and the impenitent be punished according to the de- 
merit of their crimes, then there is a state of sinning 
which renders it proper that sin should be punished 
rigidly, according to its desert. There can, therefore, 
be no argument drawn from the goodness and com- 
passion of God against the condign punishment of 
sinners. But why is impenitence alone to be con- 
sidered as exposing a sinner to the wrath of God ? 
And why are the penitent alone exempt from the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 57 

penalty of the law? The answer must be, either 
that the sin of impenitence is so great as to deserve 
this severe treatment, or the merit of repentance is 
such as to atone for the greatest sins. But supposing 
that impenitence draws after it deeper guilt than all 
other sins, that does not prove that this alone should 
be punished; it only proves that it should be punish- 
ed more. If there be a plain principle in jurispru- 
dence, it is, that eveny sin should certainly be visited 
with punishment, but exactly according to its nature. 
There is no reason why a less sin should be suffered 
to pass rather than a greater. Strict justice says, let 
every sin have its due retribution. The greatness of 
the sin of impenitence, therefore, cannot be a reason 
why the impenitent alone are to be punished. Nor 
can this great difference in the treatment of sinners 
be owing to the merit of repentance ; for it would be 
difficult to tell wherein its extraordinary merit con- 
sists. It must either be in the obedience or the suf- 
fering involved in the exercise of repentance. But 
it cannot consist in the degree of obedience which it 
contains; for if this were perfect, it could do no more 
than answer the demands of the moral law for the 
time being, but could have no effect on sins already 
committed. I think it a self-evident truth, that my 
obedience this moment cannot atone or satisfy for 
my disobedience the preceding moment ; for I do no 
more than my duty. Then certainly the obedience 
included in repentance cannot atone for all past sins, 
however enormous, for it is imperfect, and moreover 
has nothing in it which enhances its value above 
other acts of obedience. Neither can the suffering 
involved in repentance atone for past sins; for these 
pangs of compunction owe all their virtue to the 
obedience with which they are connected, and with- 
out which they would not even be of a moral nature. 
Unless some one should be of opinion, that these 
penitential sorrows are to be considered as an equi- 
valent for the penalty of the law: but this cannot be 
correct, because an equivalent for the penalty of the 
law would be an equal degree and duration of suffer- 



58 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ing. If indeed a person of higher dignity and greater 
worth is permitted to suffer in the place of another, 
in proportion to the difference in dignity, the suffer- 
ings may be diminished. It is, however, always a 
matter in the breast of the Supreme Judge, whether 
to allow of such a substitution. I see nothing un- 
reasonable in it. But in the case under inquiry, the 
same person who owes the suffering, if I may so 
speak, endures the sorrows of repentance ; and how, 
I would ask, can the pious grief of a few hours or 
days be an equivalent for the punishment of the most 
heinous transgressions? Besides, the penitent sinner 
ever feels, and is ready to confess, that he deserves 
other punishment. No one who ever truly repented, 
entertained the idea that by this he had made a com- 
plete atonement for his sins. These stains are of too 
deep a dye to be washed out by a few penitential 
tears. Nothing can be more opposed to this opinion 
than the views and feelings involved in the exercises 
of true repentance. Every true penitent is deeply 
convinced, that he deserves heavier punishment than 
is involved in the sorrows which he now experiences. 
There is, however, one ground for the opinion, 
that there is a reasonable connexion between repent- 
ance and forgiveness, perhaps more plausible than 
any other argument; it therefore merits a distinct 
consideration. It is, that all good men acknowledge 
that it is a virtue to forgive those who offend us, 
when they appear to be penitent ; and Christians 
cannot deny that this is a part of moral duty, for it 
is repeatedly and emphatically enjoined in the New 
Testament, as a thing essential. What is here alleged 
we fully admit, and are willing to go further and say, 
that it is made the duty of Christians to forgive those 
who injure them, whether they repent or not; for 
they are required to " love their enemies, to do good 
to them that hate them, to bless them that curse 
them, and pray for them which despitefully use 
them." But this is entirely a distinct case, and 
resting on principles entirely different from the one 
under consideration. It is no part of the duty of 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 59 

Christians to inflict condign punishment on those 
who sin, even if they have been injured by them. 
They are forbidden to seek revenge, or to render to 
the wicked according to their iniquities; not because 
there is any thing improper or inconsistent with mo- 
ral goodness in punishing the guilty as they deserve; 
but because this is the peculiar prerogative of the 
Governor of the universe. In those very passages 
of Scripture where vengeance is forbidden to the 
creature, in express and emphatical language it is 
claimed for the Almighty. " Vengeance is mine, I 
will repay, saith the Lord; therefore, if thine enemy 
hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink, for in 
so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." 
If this duty of forgiveness in the Christian proved 
any thing, it would prove more than is wished; it 
would follow, that God would certainly pardon not 
only the penitent, but all sinners, however obstinate 
in their rebellion. But this conclusion is altogether 
at variance with the opinion which we have had 
under discussion, and is not even held by the deist. 

Another argument in favour of the doctrine that 
repentance is naturally connected with pardon, is 
derived from the practice of granting pardon in hu- 
man governments. But here there is a mistake res- 
pecting the real state of the fact ; for although it is 
true that in all human governments, it is found expe- 
dient to have a pardoning power lodged somewhere, 
yet no government ever yet professed to act on the 
principle of pardoning all offences on the condition 
of repentance; nor indeed is the extension of mercy 
to certain criminals, who have incurred the penalty 
of the law, at all connected with this principle. The 
reason why it is sometimes right to pardon offences 
against the state, is either because, in some particu- 
lar case, the rigid execution of law would not be 
entirely just ; or, because on account of the number 
of persons implicated, sound policy may dictate that 
only the most guilty should be held up as an exam- 
ple. It appears, then, that the weakness of human 
governments is the ground on which the penalty of 



60 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the law is remitted; but no such reason can exist in 
the divine government. In the execution of human 
laws, no inquiry is ever instituted whether the crim- 
inal be penitent ; nay, though his repentance should 
be most evident, this never disarms the law of its 
penalty. The penitent thief or murderer is punished 
by our laws, as well as the obstinate and impenitent 
If in a few cases rulers who possessed the power of 
granting pardon have acted on the principle, that 
criminals who discovered signs of penitence should 
be on that account pardoned, it only proves, that 
men entrusted with power may be misled; for un- 
doubtedly this principle carried out would soon be 
subversive of all law. If the only end of punish- 
ment were the good of the culprit, then, indeed, such 
a course might be defended; but as long as the good 
of the community is the chief end of punishment, it 
never can be safe to offer pardon to all who profess 
repentance, or who for a time appear to be reformed. 

I think it is manifest from the preceding discussion, 
that the idea of a certain connexion between repent- 
ance and pardon in the moral government of God, is 
not derived from the light of nature, but from the 
gospel; and therefore, if pardon is to be had in this 
way, it is only on the ground of the atonement of 
Christ, and not on account of any merit or efficacy in 
repentance to take away the guilt of sin. 

If these views are correct, then is a divine revela- 
tion absolutely necessary to teach us that God is wil- 
ling to receive the penitent into favour, and to show 
on what terms this is practicable. 

Hence we may learn the deplorable situation of 
our whole race, and the infinite obligations which 
we are under to God for the gospel. All our well- 
grounded hopes of pardon and salvation we owe to 
the free mercy of God in Christ, and to the expiatory 
efficacy of the great atonement 



EVIDENCES Of CHRISTIANITY. 61 



CHAPTER V. 



THERE IS NOTHING IMPROBABLE OR UNREASONABLE IN THE IDEA OF A 
REVELATION FROM GOD, AND CONSEQUENTLY NOTHING IMPROBABLE OR 
UNREASONABLE IN SUCH A MANIFEST DIVINE INTERPOSITION, AS MAY 
BE NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A REVELATION. 



That a revelation is possible, will not be called in 
question by any who believe in the existence of a 
God; nor can it be believed that there is any thing 
in the notion of a revelation repugnant to the moral 
attributes of the Supreme Being. It cannot be in- 
consistent with the wisdom, goodness or holiness of 
God, to increase the knowledge of his intelligent 
creatures. The whole end of a revelation is to make 
men wiser, better, and happier; and what can be 
conceived more accordant with our ideas of divine 
perfection than this ? 

That man is capable of receiving benefit from a 
revelation is a truth so evident, that it would be 
folly to spend time in demonstrating it; for what- 
ever may be thought of the sufficiency of Natural 
Religion if it were fully understood and improved, 
all must admit, that men, generally, have not been 
sufficiently enlightened on the subject of religion. 
The history of the world in all ages proves the de- 
plorable ignorance of the greater part of the human 
race, even on those subjects which the advocates of 
Natural Religion confess to be most important and 
fundamental, as has been proved in the preceding 
chapter. 

It cannot be thought an unreasonable supposition, 
that when God made the original progenitors of our 
race, he should furnish them with such knowledge as 
was absolutely necessary, not only for their comfort 
but for their preservation. As they were without 
experience, and had none upon earth from whom 
they could derive instruction, is it unreasonable to 

6 



62 • EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

suppose, that the beneficent Creator communicated 
to them such a stock of knowledge as was requisite 
for the common purposes of life ? The theory of 
those who suppose that man was at first a dumb, 
irrational animal, very little different from those 
which now roam the forest, that from this state he 
emerged by his own exertions, that he invented 
articulate speech and all the arts of life, without ever 
receiving any aid or any revelation from his Creator, 
has already been sufficiently refuted. 

If then man received at first such ideas as were 
necessary to his condition, this was a revelation; and 
if afterwards he should at any time need information 
on any subject connected with his happiness, why 
might not the benevolent Creator, who does not 
abandon the work of his hands, again vouchsafe to 
make a communication to him ? Such an exigency, 
deists themselves being judges, did arise. Men 
almost universally fell into the practice of idolatry, 
and lost the knowledge of the true God. They be- 
took themselves to the worship of the luminaries 
of heaven, dead men, beasts, and inanimate things. 
They invented superstitious rites, not only irrational, 
but cruel and abominable. These were transmit- 
ted from generation to generation; and the children 
became still more involved in ignorance than their 
parents. That the righteous Governor of the uni- 
verse may leave men to follow their own inventions, 
and suffer by their own folly, is certain: for he has 
done so. But is it not consistent with his wisdom 
and goodness to use extraordinary means to rescue 
them from a state so degraded and wretched ? Would 
not every sober deist admit, that some means of 
bringing them back to just ideas of Natural Religion 
would be desirable ? If then the apostasy of man 
from his Maker should render some further revela- 
tion necessary, would it not be highly benevolent to 
communicate whatever knowledge his circumstances 
required ? Why should it be thought unreasonable, 
that God should sometimes depart from his common 
mode of acting, to answer great and valuable ends ? 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 63 

What is there in the established course of nature so 
sacred or so immutable, that it must never on any 
occasion or for any purpose be changed ? The only 
reason why the laws of nature are uniform, is, that 
this is for the benefit of man, but if his interest re- 
quires a departure from the regular course, what is 
there to render it unreasonable ? The author of the 
universe has never bound himself to pursue one un- 
deviating course, in the government of the world. 
The time may come when he may think proper to 
change the whole system. As he gave it a begin- 
ning, he may also give it an end. General uniformi- 
ty is expedient, that men may know what to expect, 
and may have encouragement to use means to obtain 
necessary ends; but occasional and unfrequent devia- 
tions from this uniformity have no tendency to pre- 
vent the benefit arising from it. This is so evident 
a truth that I am almost ashamed to dwell so long 
upon it; but by the sophistry of infidels a strange 
darkness has been thrown over the subject, so that it 
seems to be thought that there would be something 
immoral, or unwise and inconsistent, in contravening 
the laws of nature. 

Let it be remembered that the object here is not 
to prove that there must be a revelation; it is only 
to show that there would be nothing unreasonable 
in the thing; and further, that it would be a very 
desirable thing for man, and altogether consistent 
with the perfections of God, and the principles on 
which he governs the world. 

If God should determine to reveal his will to man, 
how could this be most conveniently effected ? We 
can conceive of two ways. The first, by inspiring 
all who needed knowledge with the ideas which he 
wished to communicate ; the second, by inspiring a 
few persons, and directing them to make known to 
others the truths received. The first would seem 
to be the most effectual, but the last is more analo- 
gous to his other dispensations. Reason might have 
been given in perfection at once, and not left to the 
uncertainty of education and human improvement; 



64 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

but such is not the fact. By slow degrees and much 
culture this faculty attains its maturity, and when 
neglected never acquires any high degree of strength. 
In regard to the best mode of making a revelation, 
however, we are totally incompetent to judge; but 
of one thing we may be certain, that if God should 
give a revelation to men, he would so attest it as to 
enable all sincere inquirers to know that it derives its 
origin from him; for otherwise it would be useless, 
as there would be no evidence of its truth. Sup- 
posing a revelation to be given, what would be a 
satisfactory attestation of its divine origin? It must 
be some sign or evidence not capable of being coun- 
terfeited; something by which God should in some 
way manifest himself. And how could this be 
effected, but by the exertion of his power or the 
manifestation of his infinite knowledge ; that is, by 
miracles, or by prophecies, or by both ? There is 
then just as much probability that miracles will 
exist, (for prophecy may be considered one kind of 
miracle) as that a revelation will be given. The 
conjunction of these two things is reasonable; if we 
find the one, we may be sure the other exists also. 

It is admitted that a revelation from God would 
have internal evidence of its origin, but this does not 
strike the attention at once. It requires time before 
it can be perceived ; but in the first establishment of 
a revelation, there is need of some evidence which is 
obvious to the senses and level to the capacities of 
all. Just such an evidence are miracles. Moreover, 
internal evidence requires, in order that it may be 
perceived and appreciated, a certain favourable state 
of the moral feelings, without which it is apt to be 
overlooked, and produces no conviction; whereas, 
external evidence is not only level to every capacity, 
but adapted to bring home conviction to every des- 
cription of men, to the bad as well as the good. 

Miracles, then, furnish the best proof for the estab- 
lishment of a revelation; they seem to be its proper 
seal ; they are the manifest attestation of God. No- 
thing oan be conceived which will more strikingly 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 65 

indicate his power and presence, than a visible sus- 
pension of the laws of nature. He is invisible : he 
must make himself known by his works, and a mira- 
cle is such a work as no other can perform. When, 
therefore, a person professes to have received a reve- 
lation from God, and when we behold the effects of 
Almighty power accompanying his words, all are 
sure that God is with him, and that he is a teacher 
sent from God ; for otherwise he could never perform 
such wonderful works; or rather, to speak more cor- 
rectly, God would never exert his power to confirm 
the pretensions of an impostor, or to attest doctrines 
which are not true. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MIRACLES ARE CAPABLE OF PROOF FROM TESTIMONY. 

I do not know that any one has denied that a mira- 
cle would be credible if exhibited to our senses. A 
man might, indeed, be deceived by an illusion arising 
from some disorder in his senses; but if he were con- 
scious of being in a sound state of body and mind, 
and should witness not only one, but a variety of 
miracles; not only a few times, but for years in suc- 
cession; and if he should find that all around him 
had the same perceptions of these facts as himself, I 
need not say that it would be reasonable to credit his 
senses, for the constitution of his nature would leave 
him no choice: he would be under the necessity of 
believing what he saw with his eyes, heard with his 
ears, and handled with his hands. But are there 
facts which a man would credit on the evidence of 
his senses, which cannot possibly be rendered credi- 
ble by the testimony of any number of witnesses? 
Then there might be facts, the knowledge of which 
could never be so communicated as to be worthy of 

6* 



66 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

credit. According to this hypothesis, the constitution 
of our nature would require us to withhold our assent 
from what was true, and from what others knew to 
be true. If a thousand persons of the strictest vera- 
city should testify that they had repeatedly witnessed 
a miracle, and if all circumstances should concur to 
corroborate their testimony, yet upon this principle 
it would be unreasonable to credit them, even if they 
should consent to die in confirmation of what they 
declared to be the fact. This is the ground taken by 
Mr. Hume, in his boasted argument against miracles. 
But it appears to me that every man, even before 
examination, must be convinced that it is false ; for 
it is contrary to common sense and universal experi- 
ence of the effect of testimony. The true principle 
on this subject is, that any fact which would be be- 
lieved on the evidence of the senses, may be reason- 
ably believed on sufficient testimony. There may 
be testimony of such a nature as to produce convic- 
tion as strong as any other conceivable evidence; and 
such testimony in favour of a miracle would estab- 
lish it as firmly as if we had witnessed it ourselves. 
But though this is the conclusion of common sense 
and experience, the metaphysical argument of Mr. 
Hume has had the effect of perplexing and unsettling 
the minds of many : and as he boasts that " it will be 
useful to overthrow miracles as long as the world 
endures," it seems necessary to enter into an exami- 
nation of his argument, that we may be able to ex- 
pose its fallacy. This has already been done in a 
convincing manner, by several men,* eminent for 
their learning and discrimination ; and if their works 
were read by all who peruse Hume, I should think 
it unnecessary to add a single word on the subject. 
But it may not be without its use to present a refu- 
tation in a condensed form, for the sake of those who 
will not take the trouble to go through a minute and 
extended demonstration. 

The argument of Mr. Hume will be best exhibited 
in his own words. "A miracle," says he, " support- 

* Dr. Campbell, Prof. Vince, Mr. Adam, Dr. Douglas. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 67 

ed by any human testimony, is more properly a sub- 
ject of derision, than of argument. No testimony for 
any kind of miracle can ever possibly amount to a 
probability." — " We establish it as a maxim, that no 
human testimony can have such force as to prove a 
miracle, and make a just foundation for any system 
of religion." — " Our belief or assurance of any fact 
from the report of eye witnesses, is derived from no 
other principle than experience ; that is, our observa- 
tion of the veracity of human testimony, and of the 
usual conformity of facts to the reports of witnesses. 
Now, if the fact attested partakes of the marvellous, 
if it is such as has seldom fallen under our own 
observation; here is a contest of two opposite experi- 
ences, of which the one destroys the other as far as 
its force goes. Further, if the fact affirmed by the 
witness, instead of being only marvellous is really 
miraculous; if, besides, the testimony considered 
apart, and in itself, amounts to an ejitire proof; in 
that case there is proof against proof, of which the 
strongest must prevail. A miracle is a violation of 
the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable ex- 
perience has established these laws, the proof against 
a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire 
as any argument from experience can possibly be 
imagined. And if so, it is an undeniable conse- 
quence, that it cannot be surmounted by any proof 
whatever from testimony. A miracle, therefore, 
however attested, can never be rendered credible, 
even in the lowest degree." 

Here we have the substance of Mr. Hume's argu- 
ment, on which I propose to make some remarks, 
intended to show that its whole plausibility depends 
on the assumption of false principles, and the artful 
use of equivocal terms. 

1. Some prejudice is created in the mind of the 
unsuspecting reader, by the definition of a miracle 
here given. It is called " a violation of the laws of 
nature," which carries with it an unfavourable idea, 
as though some obligation were violated and some 
injury done. But the simple truth is, that the laws 



68 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

of nature are nothing else than the common opera- 
tions of divine power in the government of the world, 
which depend entirely for their existence and contin- 
uance on the divine will ; and a miracle is nothing 
else than the exertion of the same power in a way- 
different from that which is common; or it may be a 
mere suspension of that power which is commonly 
observed to operate in the world. 

2. Mr. Hume's argument will apply to the evi- 
dence of the senses as well as to that derived from 
testimony, and will prove (if it prove any thing) that 
it would be impossible to believe in a miracle, if we 
should witness it ever so often. "The very same 
principle of experience," says he, " which gives us a 
certain degree of assurance in the testimony of wit- 
nesses, gives us also, in this case, another degree of 
assurance against the fact which they endeavour to 
establish, from which contradiction there arises ne- 
cessarily a counterpoise, and mutual destruction of 
belief and authority." The very same counterpoise 
and mutual destruction of belief must also occur be- 
tween the assurance derived from the senses and that 
derived from experience. The reason why testimony 
cannot be believed in favour of a miracle, is not, 
according to Mr. Hume, because it has no force, for 
taken by itself it may be sufficient to produce assu- 
rance ; but let this assurance be as strong as it may, 
it cannot be stronger than that derived from univer- 
sal experience. " In that case," says he, " there is 
proof against proof." It is evident that, upon these 
principles, the same equilibrium from contradictory 
evidence must take place between experience and 
the senses. If one evidence be stronger than an- 
other, " the stronger must prevail, but with a dimi- 
nution of force in proportion to that of its antago- 
nist." But in the case of the senses and a firm and 
unalterable experience, the evidence is perfect on 
both sides, so that the "counterpoise and mutual 
destruction of belief" must occur. According to this 
metaphysical balance of Mr. Hume, a miracle could 
not be believed if we witnessed it ever so often; for 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 69 

though there is a great weight of evidence on each 
side, yet as there is an equilibrium, neither can have 
any influence on our assent. Whether Mr. Hume 
would have objected to this conclusion does not ap- 
pear; but it is manifest, that it logically follows from 
his argument, as much as in the case to which he 
has applied it. And here we see to what a pitch of 
skepticism his reasoning leads. 

3. Mr. Hume makes an unnecessary distinction 
between that which is marvellous and that which is 
miraculous; for though there is a real difference, 
there is none as to his argument. The force of his 
reasoning does not relate to events as being miracu- 
lous, but as "being opposite to universal experience. 
If the conclusion therefore be correct, it will equally 
prove, that no testimony is sufficient to establish a 
natural event which has not before been experienced. 
If ever so many witnesses should aver that they had 
seen meteoric stones fall from the clouds, or the gal- 
vanic fluid melt metals, yet if we have never experi- 
enced these things ourselves we must not believe 
them. 

4. The opposite or contrary experience of Mr. 
Hume in regard to miracles, can mean nothing more 
than that such things have not been experienced. 
There is no other opposite experience conceivable in 
this case, unless a number of persons present at the 
same time should experience opposite impressions. 
The distinction which he artfully makes in relation 
to " the king of Siam, who refused to believe the 
first reports concerning the effects of frost," between 
that which is contrary to experience and that which 
is not conformable to experience, is without founda- 
tion. For a fact cannot be contrary to experience 
in any other way than by being not conformable 
to it. There neither is nor can be any experience 
against miracles, except this, that they have not 
occurred in our own experience or that of others. 
When the proposition of our author is expressed in 
language free from ambiguity, it will amount to this, 
that what has never been experienced can never bo 



70 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

believed on any testimony; than which nothing can 
easily be conceived more false. In what a situation 
must man have been at the beginning of the world, 
if he had adopted the principles of this skeptic ! 

5. Mr. Hume uses the word experience in a two- 
fold sense, changing from one to the other as best 
suits his purpose. Sometimes it means personal 
experience, and at other times, and more commonly, 
the experience of the whole world. Now if it be 
taken to mean our own individual experience, the 
argument will be that no fact which we ourselves 
have not witnessed can be established by testimony; 
which, if correct, would cut off at a stroke the greater 
part of human knowledge. Much the most numer- 
ous class of facts are those which we receive upon 
testimony of others, and many of these are entirely 
different from any thing that we have personally 
experienced. Many learned men never take the 
trouble to witness the most curious experiments in 
philosophy and chemistry; yet they are as well satis- 
fied of their truth as if they had personal experience 
of it. 

But though an argument founded on an opposi- 
tion between testimony and experience, in order to 
be of any validity, must relate to personal expe- 
rience; yet Mr. Hume commonly uses the term to 
signify the experience of all men in all ages. This 
extensive meaning of the term must be the one which 
he affixes to it in most places of his essay ; because 
it is experience by which we know that the laws 
of nature are uniform and unalterable ; and he has 
given an example which clearly determines the sense 
of the word. " That a dead man should come to 
life," says he, " has never been witnessed in any age 
or country." Now, according to this use of the word, 
what he calls an argument is a mere assumption 
of the point in dispute, what logicians call &petitio 
principiij a begging of the question. For, what is 
the question in debate? Is it not whether miracles 
have ever been experienced? And how does Mr. 
Hume undertake to prove that they never did exist ? 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 71 

By an argument intended to demonstrate that no 
testimony can establish them; the main principle of 
which argument is that all experience is against 
them. If miracles have ever occurred, they are not 
contrary to universal experience ; for whatever has 
been witnessed at any time, by any person, makes 
part of universal experience. What sort of reasoning 
is it then to form an argument against the truth of 
miracles, founded on the assumption, that they never 
existed? If it be true, as he says, that it has never 
been witnessed in any age or country, that a dead 
man should come to life, then indeed it is useless to 
adduce testimony to prove that the dead have on 
some occasions been brought to life. If he had a 
right to take this for granted, where was the use of 
such a parade of reasoning on the subject of testi- 
mony? The very conclusion to which he wished to 
come is here assumed as the main principle in the 
argument. It is however as easy to deny as to 
affirm; and we do utterly deny the truth of this posi- 
tion ; so that after all we are at issue precisely on the 
point where we commenced. Nothing is proved by 
the argument which promised so much, except the 
skill of the writer in sophistical reasoning. 

6. Our author falls into another mistake in his 
reasoning. The object is to prove that testimony 
in favour of miracles can never produce conviction, 
because it is opposed by uniform and unalterable 
experience. But how do we know what this univer- 
sal experience is? Is it not by testimony, except 
within the narrow circle of our own personal experi- 
ence? Then it turns out that the testimony in favour 
of miracles is neutralized or overbalanced by other 
testimony. That is, to destroy the force of testimony 
he assumes a principle founded on testimony. It is 
admitted that when testimony is adduced to establish 
any facts, if other and stronger testimony can be 
brought against them, their credibility is destroyed. 
But if I bring testimony for a fact, and some one 
alleges that he can show that this testimony is un- 
worthy of credit because he can bring witnesses to 



72 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

prove that many persons in different countries and 
ages never saw any such thing ; to such a person I 
would reply, that even if these witnesses declared the 
truth, it could not overthrow the positive testimony 
which I had adduced, as they did not contradict the 
facts asserted; and besides, it must be determined 
which witnesses are the most credible, yours or mine. 
Just so it is in the case of Mr. Hume's argument. 
He sets up uniform experience against testimony, 
and gives a preponderance to the former, on the 
ground that witnesses are known sometimes to lie; 
but all that he knows of what has happened in other 
ages and countries, is by testimony; and they who 
give this testimony kre as fallible as others; there- 
fore, there existed no ground for preferring the evi- 
dence of experience to testimony. Besides, he is not 
in possession of testimony to establish a thousandth 
part of what has been experienced ; and as far as it 
goes, it amounts to no more than non-experience, 
a mere negative thing which can never have any 
weight to overthrow the testimony of positive wit- 
nesses. In a court of justice, such a method of rebut- 
ting testimony would be rejected as totally inadmis- 
sible. If we had sufficient evidence of a fact of any 
kind, that testimony would not be invalidated, if it 
could be proved that no person in the world had 
ever witnessed the like before. This want of pre- 
vious experience naturally creates a presumption 
against the fact, which requires some force of evi- 
dence to overcome : but in all cases, a sufficient 
number of witnesses, of undoubted intelligence and 
veracity, will be able to remove the presumption and 
produce conviction. 

7. Mr. Hume lays it down as a principle, that our 
belief in testimony arises from "experience, that is, 
observation of the veracity of human testimony." But 
this is not correct. Our belief in testimony is as natural 
and constitutional as our belief in our senses. Chil- 
dren at first believe implicitly all that is told them, and 
it is from experience that they learn to distrust testi- 
mony. If our faith in testimony arose from experi- 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 73 

enee, it would be impossible to acquire any know- 
ledge from instruction. If children were to believe no- 
thing that was told them until they had made obser- 
vations on the veracity of human testimony, nothing 
would be believed; for they would never arrive at the 
maturity and judgment necessary to make observa- 
tions on a subject so complicated. 

But although Mr. Hume's object in wishing to 
establish this false principle was, to exalt the evi- 
dence of what he calls experience above testimony; 
yet, if we should concede it to him, it could answer 
him no purpose, since we have shown that this ex- 
perience itself depends on testimony. Whatever use 
he can make of this principle therefore against testi- 
mony, can be turned against himself, since his know- 
ledge of what the experience of the world is, can 
only be obtained by the report of witnesses, who, in 
different ages, have observed the course of nature. 

8. Mr. Hume, on reflection, seems to have been 
convinced that his argument was unsound; for in a 
note appended to his Essay on Miracles, he makes 
a concession which entirely overthrows the whole. 
But mark the disingenuity (or shall I not rather call 
it the malignity?) which is manifested in this only 
evidence of his candour. He concedes that there 
may be miracles of such a kind as to admit of proof 
from human testimony, in direct contradiction to his 
reiterated maxim, and in complete repugnance to all 
his reasoning; but he makes the concession with the 
express reservation that it shall not be applied to the 
support of religion. He however not only makes 
this concession, but gives an example of such mira- 
cles, and of the testimony which he admits to be suf- 
ficient to establish it. "Suppose," says he, "all 
authors in all languages agree, that from the first of 
January, 1600, there was a total darkness all over 
the earth for eight days; suppose that the tradition 
of this event is still strong and lively among the peo- 
ple: that all travellers bring us accounts of the same 
tradition, &c. — it is evident that our philoso- 
phers OUGHT TO RECEIVE IT FOR CERTAIN." And 



74 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

this is a part of the same Essay, in which it is said 
that "a miracle supported by any human testimony, 
is more properly a subject of derision than of argu- 
ment." "No kind of testimony for any kind of mi- 
racle can possibly amount to a probability, much 
less to a proof!" 

It might appear that after so complete a renuncia- 
tion of the principle which at first he so strenuously 
asserted, we might have spared ourselves the pains 
of a formal refutation. But not so. The author is 
resolved that his concession shall be of no service 
whatever to religion. Hear his own words: "But 
should this miracle be ascribed to any new system 
of religion; men in all ages have been so imposed 
upon by ridiculous stories of that kind, that, this 
very circumstance would be full proof of a cheat and 
sufficient with all men of sense, not only to make 
them reject the fact, but even reject it, without 
further examination." I have heard of a maxim 
which I believe the Jesuits introduced, that what is 
false in theology may be true in philosophy; but I 
never could have expected that a philosopher, a 
logician, and a metaphysician too, would utter any 
thing so unreasonable and so marked with prejudice 
as the declaration just quoted. The fact is admitted 
to have such evidence, that even philosophers ought 
to receive it as certain; but not if it is ascribed 
to a new religion. On this subject no evidence is 
sufficient. It is perfectly unexceptionable in philoso- 
phy; but in religion a sensible man will reject it, 
whatever it may be, even without further examina- 
tion. The circumstance of its being a miracle con- 
nected with religion is sufficient, in his opinion, to 
prove it a cheat, however complete the testimony. 
The world, it seems, has been so imposed on by 
ridiculous stories of this kind, that we must not even 
listen to any testimony in favour of religious mira- 
cles. This author would indeed reduce the advo- 
cates of religion to an awkward dilemma. They 
are called upon to produce evidence for their reli- 
gion, but if they adduce it, sensible men will not 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 75 

notice it; even if it is good every where else, it 
must go for nothing in religion. Upon these prin- 
ciples, we might indeed give up the contest; but we 
are not willing to admit that this is sound logic, or 
good sense. The reason assigned for proscribing, 
in this summary way, all the testimony in favour of 
religion, will apply to other subjects. Men have 
been imposed on by ridiculous stories in philosophy, 
as well as in religion; but when evidence is pro- 
posed, shall we not even examine it, because there 
have been impositions? This is the very reason 
why we should examine with care, that we may 
distinguish between the true and the false. 

If it were true, that miracles had often been ascrib- 
ed to new religions, it would not prove that there 
never were any true miracles, but rather the contra- 
ry; just as the abounding of counterfeit money is 
evidence that there is some genuine; for that which 
has no existence is not counterfeited. But the clam- 
our that has been raised by infidels about new reli- 
gions being commonly founded on miracles, or the 
pretence of miracles, has very little foundation in 
fact. Beside the Jewish and Christian religions, 
(which are indeed parts of the same,) it would, I 
believe, be difficult to designate any other, which 
claims such an origin. 

After all that has been said of the false maxims 
of the Jesuits, I doubt whether any one could be 
selected so perfectly at war with reason, as this of 
the philosopher; nay, I think I may challenge all 
the enemies of revelation, to call from any Christian 
writer a sentence so surcharged with prejudice. 

But, to do justice to Mr. Hume — though he seems 
to have closed the door against all discussion on our 
part — yet, in one of his general maxims, he leaves 
us one alternative. The maxim is this, "That no 
testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless it 
be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more 
miraculous than the fact." An ingenious writer* has 
undertaken to meet Mr. Hume on his own ground, 

* Dr. Gleig. 



76 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and has endeavoured to prove, that the testimony 
of the apostles and early Christians, if the facts re- 
ported by them were true, is a greater miracle than 
any which they have recorded. But the maxim, as 
stated by Mr. Hume, is not correct. With the change 
of a single word, perhaps it may be adopted, and 
will place the question on its proper ground. The 
change which I propose, is to substitute the word 
improbable for miraculous. And it will then read: 
No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, un- 
less the testimony be of such a kind, that its false- 
hood would be more improbable, than the fact which 
it endeavours to establish. The ground of objection 
to the Avord miraculous, is, that it involves a false 
principle, which is, that facts are incredible in pro- 
portion as they are miraculous; which principle he 
in several places avows, and which is indeed a car- 
dinal point in his system of evidence. But it is not 
true. There are many cases which might be pro- 
posed, in which, of two events, one of which must 
be true, that which is miraculous is more probable 
than the one which is merely natural. I will men- 
tion only one at present. Man was either immedi- 
ately created by God, or he proceeded from some 
natural cause. Need I ask, which of these is more 
probable? and yet the first is miraculous; the second 
is not. The plain truth is, that in all cases, the fact 
which has most evidence is most probable, whether 
it be miraculous or natural. And when all evidence 
relating to a proposition is before the mind, that is 

TRUE WHICH IS EASIEST TO BE BELIEVED, because it 

is easier to believe with evidence than against it. 
We are willing, therefore, that this maxim, as now 
stated, should be the ground of our decision, and we 
pledge ourselves to prove that the falsehood of the 
miracles of the gospel would be more improbable, 
and consequently more incredible, than the truth of 
the facts recorded in them. But this discussion will 
be reserved for another place. 

To conclude ; since it has been shown that there is 
no antecedent presumption against miracles from the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 77 

nature of God, or from the laws by which he governs 
the universe; since a miraculous fact is not more 
difficult to be accomplished by omnipotence than 
any other ; since miracles are no further improbable, 
than as they are unusual ; since they are the most 
suitable and decisive evidences which can be given 
of a revelation ; since even by the concession of Mr. 
Hume himself, there may be sufficient testimony 
fully to establish them ; and since the many false 
pretences to miracles, and the general disposition to 
credit them, are rather proofs that they have existed 
than the contrary ; we may safely conclude, that Mr. 
Hume's argument on this subject is sophistical and 
delusive; and that so far from being incredible, 
whatever may be their evidence, when brought to 
support religion, this is, of all others, the very case 
in which they are most reasonabe and credible. 

In a recent popular, but anonymous publication, 
entitled, " Essays on the Pursuits of Truth, on 
the Progress of Knowledge, and the Funda- 
mental Principles of all Evidence and Expec- 
tation, by the Author of Essays on the Forma- 
tion and Publication of Opinions/' the doctrine 
of Hume, on the subject of testimony, has been ex- 
hibited in a form somewhat new and imposing. And 
as this writer has acquired considerable celebrity in 
England, and his Essays have been published in 
Philadelphia, and recommended strongly to the pub- 
lic upon the authority of the Westminster Review, 
it seems necessary to guard the public against the 
insidious design of the writer. The ingenious author, 
indeed, never brings the subject of divine revelation 
directly into view, in all that he has written; and I 
believe, the word " miracles" does not occur in either 
of the volumes which he has published. It is a fact, 
however, that in the last of his Essays he has revi- 
ved, in substance, the famous argument of Hume on 
miracles ; and has, with even more concealed sophis- 
try than the celebrated infidel employed, endeavour- 
ed to prove that no testimony, however strong, is 
sufficient to establish any fact which involves a de- 



78 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

viation from the regular course of the laws of nature. 
That I may not be suspected of misrepresenting the 
sentiments of this discriminating and popular writer, 
I will here insert an extract from the essay before 
mentioned, which contains the substance of the whole 
argument. 

"Testimony must be either oral or written. As 
far as the mere physical circumstances are concerned, 
we evidently commence our use of it by reasoning 
from effects to causes. We infer, for example, that 
the writing before us has been the work of some 
human being, in doing which we of course assume 
the uniformity of causation. If from the circum- 
stances attending the testimony we infer that it is 
entitled to be received as veracious; if, for instance, 
we find that it has proceeded from a man of tried 
integrity, and who acted under the influence of mo- 
tives which render it unlikely that he should deceive, 
our inference still proceeds on the assumption of the 
same principle. I may have, in other cases, found 
these circumstances to have been the precursors or 
causes of true testimony ; but how can I or any one 
tell that they have operated in the same way in the 
instance before me? The reply must evidently be, 
that it is impossible to avoid assuming that the same 
causes have invariably the same effects. 

" In fact, if we examine any of the rules which 
have been laid down for the reception of the testimo- 
ny, or any of those marks which have been pointed 
out as enabling us to judge of its credibility, we shall 
find them all involving the uniformity of causation. 
It is allowed on all hands, that the concurrence of a 
number of witnesses in the same assertion, their re- 
putation for veracity, the fact of the testimony being 
against their own interest, the probability of detec- 
tion in any false statements, are all circumstances 
enhancing the credibility of what they affirm. These 
are considered as general principles on the subject 
gathered from experience, and we apply them in- 
stinctively to any new case which may be presented 
to us, either in the course of our own observation, or 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 79 

as having taken place at some former period. But 
it is obvious from what has just been said, that unless 
we assume a uniformity in the succession of causes 
and effects, we cannot transfer our experience from 
any one case to another. That certain circumstances 
have produced true testimony in one or a hundred 
instances, can be no reason why they should produce 
it in a different instance, unless we assume that the 
same causes have necessarily the same effects. 

" It is clearly shown by this reasoning, that in the 
reception of testimony and the use of physical evi- 
dence we proceed on the same principle. But in the 
case of testimony there is a peculiarity not belonging 
to physical evidence. In the former we not only 
have certain effects from which it is our task to infer 
the causes, or certain causes from which to infer the 
effects; as when we judge the writing before us to 
have been tha work of some human being, or the 
testimony to be true on account of the circumstances 
under which it was given; but the testimony itself 
consists of the assertion of facts, and the nature of 
the facts asserted often forms part of the grounds on 
which the veracity of the testimony is determined; 
it frequently happens, that while external circum- 
stances tend to confirm the testimony, the nature and 
circumstances of the facts attested render it highly 
improbable that any such facts should have taken 
place, and these two sets of circumstances may be so 
exactly equivalent as to leave the mind in irremedia- 
ble doubt. In the consideration of both, however, 
the same assumption is involved. We think the facts 
improbable, because we have found them rarely 
occurring under the circumstances stated; we think 
the testimony likely to be true, because we have 
generally found true testimony to proceed from wit- 
nesses acting under the influence of similar motives, 
and what we have found to happen in other cases 
we are irresistibly led to conclude must also happen 
in the case before us. 

" The opposition of the circumstances of the evi- 
dence and the nature of the facts may be carried still 



80 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

further. Assertions are frequently made which in 
themselves imply a breach of uniformity of causation. 
From such cases the conclusions already established 
remove all difficulty. To weigh probabilities, to de- 
termine what credit is due to two sets of conflicting 
circumstances, neither of which as far as our know- 
ledge extends, is irreconcilable to the usual course of 
nature, is often a nice and arduous task; but if the 
principles of this essay are correct, it is easy to see 
what reception ought to be given to assertions pro- 
fessedly implying a deviation from the uniform suc- 
cession of causes and effects. 

" Suppose, for . instance, any person to affirm that 
he had exposed a cubic inch of ice to a temperature 
of two hundred degrees of Fahrenheit, and that at 
the expiration of an hour it had retained its solidity. 
Here is a sequence of events asserted Avhich is 
entirely at variance with the admitted course of na- 
ture ; and the slightest reflection is sufficient to show, 
that to believe the assertion would involve a logical 
absurdity. The intrinsic discrepancy of the facts 
could never be overcome by any possible proofs of 
the truth of the testimony. 

" For let us put the strongest case imaginable; let 
us suppose that the circumstance of the ice remain- 
ing un melted, rests on the concurrent testimony of a 
great number of people, people too of reputation, 
science, and perspicacity, who had no motive for 
falsehood, who had discernment to perceive, and 
honesty to tell the real truth, and whose interests 
would essentially suffer from any departure from 
veracity. Under such circumstances false testimony 
it may be alleged is impossible. 

" Now mark the principle on which this represen- 
tation proceeds. Let us concede the positions, that 
what is attested by a great number of witnesses must 
inevitably be true, — that people of reputation and 
intelligence without any apparent motive for false- 
hood are invariably accurate in their testimony, and 
that they are above all, incapable of violating truth, 
when a want of veracity would be ruinous to their 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 81 

interests. Granting all this, I ask the objector, how 
he knows that these things are so; that men of this 
character and in these circumstances speak truth? 
He will reply that he has invariably found them to 
act in this manner: but why, because you found 
them to act in this manner in a few or even in many 
cases, within your own experience or in the experi- 
ence of ages, do you conclude that they have acted 
so in all cases and in the case before us ? The only 
answer is, that it is impossible not to take for grant- 
ed, that in precisely similar circumstances similar 
results will ensue, or that like causes have always 
like effects. 

" Thus on the ground of unifomrity of causation, 
he would be maintaining the competency of testi- 
mony to prove a fact which implies a deviation from 
that uniformity." 

It will abbreviate the answer to this specious argu- 
ment, to acknowledge, that the general principle 
which this author takes so much pains to establish, 
and on which he builds his reasoning, is freely ad- 
mitted to be not only correct, but self-evident. That 
the same causes uniformly produce the same effects, 
is a truth so obvious, and so generally admitted, that 
it was unnecessary for the ingenious author of this 
essay, to spend so much time in rendering it evident. 
And I am willing to admit its certainty to be as un- 
doubted in moral, as in physical subjects. But while 
I freely admit, that the same causes will uniformly be 
followed by the same effects, I do by no means accede 
to the proposition, which our author seems to consider 
as of the same import; namely, that the course of na- 
ture, or the laws of nature, never have been interrupt- 
ed, or suspended: and the whole appearance offeree 
and plausibility which the argument of this writer 
possesses, arises from the artful confounding of these 
distinct propositions. I agree, that no testimony can 
be strong enough to induce a rational man to believe 
that the same causes will not be attended with the 
same effects; for this would be to assent to an evi- 
dent absurdity. But it is an entirely different thing 



82 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

to believe that the laws of nature have sometimes 
been suspended; for in this case, we- suppose, that 
an extraordinary cause has intervened. To believe 
that a divine power has interposed to change the 
course of nature, is surely not the same thing, as to 
believe that the same cause which commonly pro- 
duced one effect, is now attneded by another entirely 
different. The natural causes, it is true, remain the 
same, but the general proposition stated above, is 
not true, if confined only to these. If there exist 
supernatural causes, or a power superior to the laws 
of nature — and this our author does not profess to 
deny — then the laws of nature, or mere natural 
causes may remain the same ; and yet, by the opera- 
tion of these supernatural causes, effects entirely 
diverse from those that would be the sequence of 
natural causes, may take place. And the author 
himself seems in one place to have been aware of 
this distinction, and to admonish the reader of its 
existence; and yet, through the whole of the argu- 
ment he proceeds, as if the two propositions were 
identical He ought, however, to have recollected, 
that while no man in his senses disbelieves the first 
proposition, much the greater number of men have 
believed, that in some cases the laws of nature have 
been suspended; not, that they thought that the 
same causes did not, in these instances, produce the 
same effects, but that other causes of greater potency, 
than natural causes, were put into operation. 

When our author, therefore, infers from the uni- 
formity of causation, that no testimony is sufficient 
to be the foundation of a rational belief, that there 
has been a deviation from the common course of 
nature, he applies a correct principle to a case to 
which it evidently does not belong. Because the 
same cause must produce the same effects, does it 
follow, that when another and superior cause ope- 
rates, the same effects must be produced? This 
would be indirect repugnance to his own maxim 
Then, before this principle of the uniformity of causes 
and effects can be applied, it must be demonstrated, 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 83 

that in the case under consideration, no other causes 
operate, but such as are usual and natural, and when- 
ever he shall be able to establish this, there will be 
no further contest respecting the matter. 

That I do not misrepresent the argument of the 
author will appear satisfactorily, by considering the 
cases which he had adduced. " Suppose, for in- 
stance/' says he, " any person to affirm, that he had 
exposed a cubic inch of ice to a temperature of two 
hundred degrees of Fahrenheit, and that at the expi- 
ration of an hour, it had retained its solidity. Here 
is a sequence of events asserted, which is entirely at 
variance with the admitted course of nature ; and the 
slightest reflection is sufficient to show, that to be- 
lieve the assertion, would involve a logical absurdity. 
The intrinsic discrepancy of the facts could never be 
overcome by any possible proofs of the truth of testi- 
mony. " 

In another page, he says, " If a number of men 
were to swear, that they had seen the mercury of 
the barometer remain at the height of thirty inches, 
when placed in the exhausted receiver of an air- 
pump, their testimony would be instantly rejected. 
The universal conclusion would be, that such an 
event was impossible." What is here confidently 
asserted, would only be true upon the supposition, 
that no causes but such as were natural operated in 
the cases adduced; but on the hypothesis cf the ope- 
ration of a supernatural cause, there would neither 
be absurdity nor impossibility in either of the facts. 
What ! could not He, who established these laws, 
and gave to heat and air, respectively, their peculiar 
power and qualities, suspend their usual operation? 
Could not He cause the ice to remain unmelted in 
any temperature; and the mercury to remain sus- 
pended, without the pressure of the atmosphere? 
But the sophistical nature of the argument used, is 
most evident. The principle is, that similar causes 
must have similar effects. Very good — what then ? 
Why, if ice remain unmelted at two hundred degrees 
of Fahrenheit, then this principle would be violated 



84 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

I answer, not at all, provided another cause is in 
operation, of such potency as to counteract the usual 
effects of caloric; or to counteract the gravity of the 
quicksilver, in vacuo. And it will not do to allege, 
that God, who established these laws, will not con- 
travene them, on any occasion; for this would be an 
entire change of the ground of the argument, and a 
relinquishment of the principle on which the reason- 
ing of our author is founded. Besides, it would be 
a mere begging of the question in dispute. 

Now, in both the cases adduced by this writer, to 
illustrate and confirm his argument, on which he 
pronounces so confidently, that the judgment of men 
would universally reject any testimony, I beg leave 
to be of a different opinion, and will appeal to the 
common sense of all reflecting men, whether, on the 
supposition, that a dozen men, of perspicacity and 
undoubted integrity, should solemnly affirm that they 
had seen a cubic inch of ice remain an hour unmelt- 
ed at two hundred degrees of Fahrenheit, whether 
they could refuse their assent, even if they knew of no 
good reason why the laws of nature should be sus- 
pended? But if they knew that an important pur- 
pose in the divine government could be answered by 
such a miracle, much less testimony would be suffi- 
cient to produce unwavering conviction of the truth of 
the extraordinary fact. And while they assent to such 
facts, on sufficient testimony, they are guilty of no 
absurdity, and violate no rule of common sense. It 
is true, that the credibility of the event reported, 
may be reduced to this question — whether it is more 
probable, that the laws of nature should, for a good 
end, be suspended, or that twelve men of tried vera- 
city, should agree to assert a falsehood, without any 
motive to induce them to do so? And here our in- 
genious author revives the metaphysical balance of 
Mr. Hume; and after admitting that the evidence 
from testimony may be so strong that nothing is 
wanting to give it force, yet the maxim that the 
same causes may have the same effects, is also a 
-ruth so certain, that no evidence can countervail it. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 85 

We have, therefore, according to this statement, the 
equipoise of evidence, which we have already con- 
sidered, in Mr. Hume's argument. The rational 
mind, in such circumstances, must remain neutral; it 
can neither believe nor disbelieve ; for the evidence 
for the one exactly counterbalances that for the other. 
But after stating this hypothesis, our author finds 
that the evidence from testimony never can be so 
convincing, as that which we have for the uniformi- 
ty of causation. His words are — " If the rejection 
and the admission of the testimony equally implied 
a deviation from the uniform terms of causes and 
effects, there could be no reason for rejecting or ad- 
mitting it." "But the rejection of the testimony is 
not in this predicament. The causes of testimony, 
or in other words, those considerations which oper- 
ate on the minds of the witness, cannot always be 
ascertained; and as we are uncertain as to the causes 
in operation, we cannot be certain of the effect; we 
cannot be sure that the circumstances of the witness 
are such as have given rise to true testimony, and 
consequently we cannot be sure that the testimony is 
true." 

On this whole subject I have several remarks to 
make. First, this method of destroying the equipoise 
of evidence granted by Mr. Hume, and conceded by 
our author, is not altogether fair; because it does not 
admit what is obviously true, that in regard to some 
kinds of testimony, the evidence is so certain, that 
we might as soon doubt our own existence as the 
truth of the facts attested. Now, this being the case, 
there was no propriety in representing all testimony 
as being involved in some degree of uncertainty. 

Again, what is here said of testimony will apply 
just as fully to what we ourselves witness, and for 
the truth of which we have the testimony of our own 
senses. I mean, that if the argument of our author 
is at all valid, it will prove, that if we saw the ice 
remain unmelted in the heat, and beheld it ever so 
often, and found that thousands around us received 
the same impression, we must not credit our own 

8 



86 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

senses, nor believe what we saw with our own eyes; 
because, however certain this kind of evidence may 
be, it cannot be more certain than the principle, that 
the same causes will uniformly produce the same 
effects. Therefore, although we should, under all 
manner of circumstances, see such events, they could 
not be believed; for to believe them would be a 
logical absurdity. And thus would these men, by 
their metaphysics, reason us out of the evidence of 
our very eye-sight. I know, indeed, that neither 
Hume, nor the author whose reasoning we are now 
considering, has pushed the argument to this its just 
consequence; but I would defy any man to show, 
that it is not as applicable to the evidence of the 
senses as to that derived from testimony. Now, as 
the kind of evidence which will invariably command 
assent, is not learned by metaphysical reasoning, but 
by experience, I would leave the matter to be decided 
by every man of impartial judgment, for himself. 
Every man knows whether or not he would believe 
his own eyes, if he should see ice remain unmelted 
in two hundred degrees of temperature, according to 
Fahrenheit : or whether he would say, " it seems to 
be so, but it cannot be true, because it contradicts a 
self-evident principle, that the same causes must 
always be followed by the same effects." To which 
a man of plain, unsophisticated common sense would 
reply, "I must believe my own senses; if doing so 
contradicts a thousand abstract principles^ I care not 
— < seeing is believing/" And the same may be 
said in regard to testimony. Suppose a thousand 
persons entirely disinterested to aver, that they had 
seen ice remain unmelted in a very high tempera- 
ture, we could not but believe them, account for the 
fact as we might. But we have already proved, that 
believing in such an event violates no maxim, but 
only supposes that some extraordinary power or 
cause is in operation; and when it is understood, 
that this deviation from the laws of nature is intend- 
ed to confirm the declarations of some person who 
claims to be a messenger of God, there is not only no 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 87 

absurdity in the thing, but all presumption against 
the probability of such supernatural interposition is 
removed, as has been shown in the argument on that 
subject. 

It might also be demonstrated, that upon the prin- 
ciples of this author, it would be absurd, upon any 
evidence, to believe not only in a fact which involved 
a real deviation from the laws of nature, but in any 
one which was entirely different from all our own ex- 
perience of the laws of nature. For if it would be ab- 
surd to believe, on the testimony of thousands of un- 
connected witnesses, that ice did not melt in a certain 
case when placed in the fire ; then it was altogether 
rational for the king of Siam, and all others in similar 
circumstances, to disbelieve the fact that water had 
been known to become as hard as a stone, so that 
men and animals could walk upon it. Persons so 
situated never could know that such an effect existed, 
but by testimony; yet as this testimony contradicted 
all their own experience about the laws of nature, in 
relation to water, they ought rather to reject the tes- 
timony, however strong, than to credit a fact which 
seemed to involve a deviation from " the sequence 
of cause and effect," to use the language of this 
author. And thus we should be reduced to the 
necessity of rejecting all facts not consonant to our 
own personal experience; for to receive them on the 
ground of testimony, would be to violate the princi- 
ple that causation is uniform. 

But the zeal of our author to establish his favour- 
ite point, has led him, not only to assert that a devia- 
tion from the regular succession of the laws of nature 
was incredible on the ground of testimony, but that 
it is, in the nature of things, impossible. In this 
assertion he certainly may lay claim to originality; 
for I believe no one before him, not even Hume, has 
gone so far in bold affirmation. His words are — 
"An event is impossible which contradicts our expe- 
rience, or which implies that the same causes have 
produced different effects, or the same effects been 
preceded by different causes. Thus, when we pro- 



88 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

nounce that it was impossible for a piece of ice to 
remain in the midst of burning coals without being 
dissolved, our conclusion involves a complete know- 
ledge of this particular effect of fire on ice." 

And he is so confident that this is the true import 
of the word impossible, that he says, " If I am not 
greatly deceived, the acutest reasoner, the closest 
thinker, the most subtle analyser of words, will find 
himself unable to produce any other meaning of the 
term impossible, than that which is here assigned to 
it." But he seems to have felt that he had gone 
too far in this dogmatical, and I must say, irrational 
assertion; for in a note he himself gives another, and 
one of the true meanings of the word impossible. 
But as confident assertion, accompanied by no proof 
nor reason, is sufficiently answered by a confident 
denial, I would take the liberty of saying, therefore, 
that if I am not greatly mistaken, no accurate philo- 
logist will admit that this is the true meaning of the 
word impossible. And certainly, men of plain com- 
mon sense never can be persuaded, that it is impos- 
sible for the succession of events according to the 
laws of nature, to be changed. It is true, when we 
confine our ideas to the mere powers and qualities 
of nature, we do assert that their effects will be uni- 
form, and that it is impossible that the same causes 
should produce different effects; but when we extend 
our views to the Great First Cause, it is not only 
absurd, but impious, to assert that he cannot suspend 
or alter the laws of nature. Nothing is impossible 
to him which does not imply a contradiction, or is 
not repugnant to his attributes. 

The conclusion which is rational on this subject, 
is, that all things are possible to God, and whatever 
is possible may be believed on sufficient testimony; 
which testimony, however, must be strong, in pro- 
portion to the improbability of the event to be con- 
firmed. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 89 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE MIRACLES OF THE GOSPEL ARE CREDIBLE 

Having shown, in the preceding chapter, that mira- 
cles maybe so attested as to be credible, I come now 
to examine the evidence by which the miraculous 
facts recorded in the New Testament are established. 
This is the main point in our inquiry; for after all 
that has been said, it must be admitted that unless 
the Christian religion is attended with sufficient evi- 
dence, Ave cannot believe in it, even if we would. 

Before entering directly on this discussion it may 
be useful to premise a few things respecting the na- 
ture and force of testimony, which, it is presumed, 
will be admitted by all who have attended to the 
subject. This species of evidence admits of all con- 
ceivable degrees, from the weakest probability to the 
fullest assurance; for while, on this ground, we yield 
to some reports the most hesitating assent, we are 
as certainly persuaded of others as of those things 
which we perceive by our senses, or have demon- 
strated by mathematical reasoning. 

The exact force of testimony cannot be calculated 
by rule noi* estimated by reason, but is known only 
from experience. Many things are believed on tes- 
timony with the most unwavering confidence, when 
we are utterly unable to explain the precise ground 
on which our conviction rests. The sources of our 
information have been so numerous, and the same 
facts presented to us in so many forms, that it is im- 
possible to attribute to each its influence in gaining 
our assent. If we were asked on what particular 
testimony we believe there is such a place as Rome, 
or why we believe that such a person as Bonaparte 
lately figured in Europe, we could only answer, in 
the general, that multiplied testimonies of these facts 

S* 



90 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

had reached us so that all possibility of doubting was 
excluded. The same assurance, and resting on the 
same grounds, is experienced in relation to facts 
which occurred in ages long past. Who can bring 
himself to doubt whether such persons as Julius 
Caesar, Paul, Mohammed, Columbus, or Luther ever 
existed ? 

When we have obtained evidence to a certain 
amount, nothing is gained by the admission of more. 
The mind becomes, as it were, saturated, and no in- 
crease of conviction is produced by multiplying wit- 
nesses. One sound demonstration of a theorem in 
mathematics is as good as a hundred. A few up- 
right witnesses who agree and are uncontradicted by 
other evidence, are as satisfactory as any conceivable 
number. On a trial for murder, if there were a 
thousand witnesses who could attest the fact, a judi- 
cious court would not deem it necessary to examine 
more than half a dozen, or at most a dozen, if there 
were a perfect agreement in their testimony. Expe- 
rience only can inform us what degree of evidence 
will produce complete conviction; but we may judge 
from former experience what will be the effect of the 
same evidence in future, and from the effect on our 
own minds, what it will be on the minds of others. 

Testimony, not of the strongest kind, may be 
so corroborated by circumstances, and especially by 
the existing consequences of the facts reported, that 
it may be rendered credible and ever^ irresistible. 
Should an historian of doubtful credit assert that an 
eclipse of the sun occurred on a certain day and was 
visible in a certain place ; if we possessed no other 
evidence of the fact, it might be considered doubtful 
whether the testimony was true or false ; but if by 
astronomical calculation it should be found, that 
there must have been an eclipse of the sun at that 
time, and visible at that place, the veracity of the 
witness would be confirmed beyond all possibility of 
oubt. Or should we find it recorded by an anony- 
mous author, that an earthquake at a certain time 

d overthrown a certain city; without further evi- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 91 

dence, we should yield but a feeble assent to the 
statement; but if on personal observation or by the 
report of respectable travellers, it was ascertained, 
that the ruins of an ancient city existed in that place, 
we should consider the truth of the history as suffi- 
ciently established. 

The evidences of the Christian religion may be 
sufficient, and yet not so strong as inevitably to pro- 
duce conviction. Our conduct in the pursuit and 
reception of truth may be intended by our Creator to 
be an important part of the probation to which we 
are subjected; and therefore the evidence of revela- 
tion is not so great as to be irresistible, but is of such 
a kind, that the sincere and diligent inquirer will be 
in no danger of fatal mistake; while men of pride 
and prejudice, who prefer darkness to light, will be 
almost sure to err.* 

It is natural for all men to speak the truth; false- 
hood requires an effort. Wicked men lie only when 
they have some sinister end in view. Combinations 
to deceive are never formed, but with a view to 
accomplish some object desirable to those concerned. 
No set of men will be at the trouble of forging and 
propagating a falsehood, which promises them no 
profit or gratification. Much less will they engage 
in such an enterprise, with the view of bringing evil 
on themselves, or when they foresee that it can be 
productive of nothing but pain and reproach. 

Between truth and falsehood there is so great a 
difference, that it is extremely difficult for the latter 
so effectually to assume the garb and exhibit the 
aspect of the former as, upon a strict scrutiny, not to 
be detected. No imposture can stand the test of 
rigid inquiry. The style and manner of truth are 
entirely different from those of falsehood. The one 
pursues a direct course, is candid, unaffected, and 
honest; the other is evasive, cunning, tortuous, and 
inconsistent; and is often betrayed by the efforts 
made to avoid detection. 

When both sides of a question are pressed with 

* See Pascal's Thoughts. 



92 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

difficulties, reason teaches us to choose that which is 
attended with the fewest. Objectors to Christianity 
often forget to notice the difficulties of their own 
hypothesis. Every question has two sides; if we 
reject the affirmative, we of necessity receive the 
negative with all the consequences which may bur- 
den it. If we reject the evidence of Christianity and 
deny that miracles ever existed, we are bound to 
account for the existence of the Christian Church, 
and for the conduct of the first preachers and primi- 
tive believers, on other principles. And whoever 
seriously undertakes this will impose on himself a 
difficult task. Gibbon has put forth his strength on 
this subject with very small success. His account 
of the origin of Christianity is very unsatisfactory 
and totally defective in historical evidence.* 

If the evidence on both sides of an important ques- 
tion appear to be pretty equally balanced, it is the 
dictate of wisdom to lean to the safe side. In this 
question, undoubtedly, the safe side is that of reli- 
gion; for if we should be mistaken here, we shall 
suffer no loss and obtain some good by our error; 
but a mistake on the other side must prove fatal. 

When a proposition has been established by pro- 
per and sufficient evidence, our faith ought not to be 
shaken by every objection which we may not be 
able to solve. To admit this, would be to plunge 
into skepticism on all subjects, for what truth is there 
to which some objection may not be raised that no 
man can fully answer? Even the clearest truths in 
science are not exempt from objections of this sort. 
It must be so, as long as our minds are so limited 
and the extent of human knowledge so narrow. That 
man judges incorrectly who supposes that when he 
has found out some objection to Christianity which 
cannot be satisfactorily answered, he has gained a 
victory. There are indeed objections which relate 
to the essence of propositions, which, if sustained, do 
overthrow the evidence; but there are other nume- 

* Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, c. xv, and xvi. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 93 

rous objections which leave the substantial evidence 
undisturbed. Concerning these I speak when I say 
that objections, though not admitting of an answer, 
should not be permitted to unsettle our faith. 

Let us now proceed to the examination of the tes- 
timony for the miracles recorded in the gospel. In 
this discussion we shall take it for granted, that such 
a person as Jesus Christ lived in Judea about the 
time mentioned by the evangelists, that he inculcated 
a pure and sublime morality, lived a virtuous and 
unblamable life, and was put to death by Pontius 
Pilate at the instigation of the Jewish rulers; that 
his apostles went forth into various countries preach- 
ing to the people, and declaring that this crucified 
Jesus was a person sent from God for the salvation 
of the world, and that many were induced to connect 
themselves with the Christian church. These facts 
not bekig of a miraculous nature, and it being neces- 
sary to suppose some such events, deists have com- 
monly been disposed to admit them. But Volney 
and some others have pretended that such a person 
as Jesus Christ never existed, that this is the name 
of one of the celestial luminaries, and that the gospel 
history is an allegory. Such visionary theories do 
not deserve a serious answer: they are subversive of 
all historical truth, and have not a shadow of evi- 
dence. They may be well left to sink by the weight 
of their own extravagance. Volney, however, has 
received a learned answer from a gentleman* who 
has met him on his own ground, and being as much 
attached to astronomical allegories as the French- 
man, has vanquished him with his own weapons. 

In the examination of written testimony, the first 
thing requisite is to prove the authenticity of the 
document in which it is recorded. The evidence on 
which we depend for the truth of the miracles per- 
formed by Jesus Christ and by his apostles, is con- 
tained in the New Testament. Here we have four 
distinct narratives of the life, miracles, death, resur- 
rection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth ; and also 

* Mr. Roberts. 



94 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

a history of the acts and sufferings of the apostles in 
preaching the gospel and laying the foundation of 
the first Christian churches, after the resurrection and 
ascension of their Master. We have also in this 
collection of writings a number of epistles addressed 
to the church in general, to particular churches, and 
to individuals. These, with a book of prophecy, com- 
pose the volume called the New Testament. 

These books are certainly not of recent origin ; for 
there are extant copies of the New Testament in the 
original Greek, which are, at the least, twelve hun- 
dred years old. And before the time when these 
manuscripts were penned, we have in other books 
numerous testimonies to the existence of the Chris- 
tian Scriptures. They are not only mentioned but 
quoted, expounded and harmonized, so that if every 
copy of the New Testament had been lost, a large 
portion of it might be recovered by means* of the 
numerous quotations in the early Christian writers. 
Besides, there are extant versions of the New Testa- 
ment into several languages made at a very early 
period. By these means we are able to trace these 
writings up to the time in which the apostles lived. 

There is also ample proof, hot only from Christian 
but heathen authors, that a society calling themselves 
Christians existed as early as the reign of Nero who 
was contemporary with the apostles. It is evident, 
from the necessity of the case, that some such ac- 
counts as those contained in the gospels must have 
been received as true from the first existence of the 
Christian church. Unless it had been preached and 
believed that Christ was a divine Teacher and per- 
formed extraordinary works in attestation of his mis- 
sion, how is it possible that such a society could have 
been formed? To suppose such a thing would be 
to conceive of a superstructure without a foundation. 
The resurrection of Christ from the dead must have 
been an article of the faith of Christians, from their 
very origin; for it is the corner stone of the whole 
edifice. Take the belief of this away and the Chris- 
tian system has no existence. There are also some 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 95 

external institutions peculiar to Christianity, which 
we 'must suppose to be coeval with the formation 
of the society, for they are the badges of the Chris- 
tian profession, and constitute a part of their worship. 
I refer to baptism and the eucharist. To suppose 
that in some way Christianity first existed, and after- 
wards received these articles of faith and these insti- 
tutions of worship, is too improbable to be admitted 
by any impartial man. It would be to suppose that 
a religious society existed without any principles, or 
that they rejected their original principles and adopt- 
ed new ones; and that they who imposed these upon 
them, had the address to persuade them, that they 
had always belonged to their system; — than which 
it is not easy to conceive any thing more improba- 
ble. Let us for a moment attempt to imagine, that 
previously to the publication of the gospels, the 
Christian church had among them no report of the 
miracles, and no account of the institutions, recorded 
in these books. When they opened them, they would 
read that their society was founded on the belief of 
the resurrection of Jesus, and that baptism and the 
eucharist were instituted by him before he left the 
world, and had existed among them ever since. No- 
thing can be more evident than that the substance of 
what is contained in the gospels, was believed and 
practised by Christians from the commencement of 
the society. 

As these books have come down to us under the 
names of certain apostles and disciples of Jesus 
Christ, so they were ascribed to the same persons 
from the earliest mention of them. It is by the 
ancient Fathers spoken of as a fact universally be- 
lieved among Christians, and contradicted by nobody. 
And we must not suppose that in the first ages of 
Christianity there was little care or discrimination 
exercised, in ascertaining the true authors and genu- 
ine character of the books in circulation. The very 
reverse is the fact. The most diligent inquiries were 
instituted into matters of this kind. Other books 
were published in the name of the apostles, profess- 



96 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ing to give an account of Jesus Christ, which were 
not genuine. The distinction between the books of 
the New Testament and all others of every class, was 
as clearly marked in the earliest ages as it has ever 
been since. The writings of the apostles were held 
in great veneration, were received by the churches 
all over the world, as the rule of their faith and direc- 
tory of their lives, and publicly read at their meet- 
ings for the instruction of the people. When any 
controversy arose they were appealed to as an au- 
thoritative standard. As soon as published, they were 
so widely scattered and so carefully guarded, that no 
persons had it in their power to make any alteration 
in them. 

The style and dialect in which these books are 
written furnishes an evidence of their authenticity, 
of a peculiar kind. It does not indeed ascertain the 
persons of the writers, but proves that they must have 
been exactly in the circumstances of those to whom 
these books have been uniformly ascribed. The 
words are Greek but the idiom is in Hebrew, or 
rather Syro-Chaldaic,the vernacular tongue of Judea 
in the time of Christ and his apostles. This is a 
peculiarity which none could counterfeit, and which 
demonstrates that the New Testament was not com- 
posed by men of a different country and age from 
those in which the apostles lived. 

In the New Testament there are numerous refer- 
ences to rivers, mountains, seas, cities, and countries, 
which none but a person well acquainted with the 
geography of Judea and the neighbouring countries 
could have made, without falling into innumerable 
errors. There is moreover incidental mention of 
persons and facts known from other authorities to 
have existed, and frequent allusions to manners and 
customs peculiar to the Jews. 

From all these considerations, it ought to be admit- 
ted without dispute, that these are indeed the writ- 
ings of the apostles, and of those particular persons 
to whom they are ascribed. It would not however 
destroy their credibility even if other persons had 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 97 

written them, since they were certainly composed in 
that age and were received by the whole body of 
Christians. But what imaginable reason is there 
for doubting the genuineness of these books ? What 
persons were so likely to write books to guide the 
faith of the church as the apostles ? If they did not 
write them who would? And why would they 
give the credit of them to others ? But their uni- 
versal reception without opposition or contradiction 
should silence every cavil. The persons who lived 
at this time knew the apostles, and were deeply in- 
terested in the subject, and they are the proper judges 
of this question. They have decided it unanimously, 
as it relates to the historical books of the New Tes- 
tament. From them the testimony has come down, 
through all succeeding ages, without chasm. Even 
heathen writers and heretics are witnesses that the 
gospels were written by the persons whose names 
they bear.* 

In other cases we usually possess no other evi- 
dence of the genuineness of the most valued writings 
of antiquity, except the opinion of contemporaries 
handed down by uncontradicted tradition. How 
soon would Homer be deprived of his glory, if such 
evidence was insisted on as is required for the genu- 
ineness of the New Testament ? Certainly, as it 
respects evidences of genuineness, no books of anti- 
quity stand upon a level with the books of the New 
Testament. The works of the Greek and Latin his- 
torians and poets have no such evidence of being the 
writings of the persons whose names they bear, as 
the writings of Matthew, Mark', Luke, and John. 
For we have the testimony, not merely of individu- 
als, but of numerous societies, widely scattered over 
the world. We have internal evidence of a kind 
which cannot be counterfeited. We have, in short, 
every species of evidence of which the case admits. 
It may therefore be considered as an established fact, 
that the books of the New Testament are the genuine 
productions of the apostles, and consequently contain 

* See Lardner's Heathen Testimonies. 
9 



98 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

their testimony to the miracles of Jesus Christ, and 
also to those miracles which in his name they per- 
formed after his ascension. 

It is also certain that the books of the New Testa- 
ment have not undergone any material change since 
they were written; for there is a general agreement 
in all copies, in all the versions, and in all the quo- 
tations. There are, it is true, small discrepancies, 
which have occurred through the ignorance or care- 
lessness of transcribers, but not more than might 
naturally be expected. There is no ancient book 
which has come down to us so entire as the Scrip- 
tures, and which is accompanied by so many means 
of correcting an erroneous reading where it has oc- 
curred. This representation may appear surprising 
to those who have heard of the vast multitude of 
various readings which learned critics have collected 
from a collation of the manuscripts; but it ought to 
be understood by all who have ever heard of these 
discrepancies, that not one in a thousand is of the 
least consequence; that a great majority of them are 
merely differences in orthography, in the collocation 
of words, or in the use of words perfectly synony- 
mous, by which the sense is not in the least affected. 
A cursory reader would find as little difference in the 
various manuscripts of the New Testament, as in the 
different printed editions of the English version. 

Having established the authenticity of the record 
which contains the testimony, we shall next proceed 
to consider its credibility. 

I. Many of the facts related in the gospel are 
undoubtedly of a miraculous nature. It is declared 
that Jesus Christ, in several instances, raised the 
dead. In one case the person had been dead four 
days, so that the body began to be offensive to the 
smell. In every case, this miracle was wrought in- 
stantly and without any other means than speaking 
a word. It is declared that he healed multitudes of 
the most inveterate and incurable diseases; that he 
gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech 
to the dumb, and active limbs to the withered and 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 99 

the maimed; that he delivered those who were furi- 
ous and unmanageable by reason of the possession of 
demons; that on different occasions he fed thousands 
of people with a few loaves and fishes until they 
were satisfied, and that the fragments which were 
gathered up were much greater in quantity than the 
original materials; that he walked upon the sea and 
with a word allayed the raging storm and produced 
a great calm. And finally, it is repeatedly and sol- 
emnly declared by all the witnesses, that Jesus Christ, 
after being crucified and after having continued in 
the sepulchre three days, rose from the dead, and 
after showing himself frequently to his disciples, 
ascended to heaven in their presence. 

That all these were real miracles, none can for a 
moment doubt. It is true, we do not know all the 
powers of nature; but we do know, as certainly as 
we know any thing, that such works as these could 
not be performed but by the immediate power of 
God. The same remark may be extended to the 
miracles wrought by the apostles in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, and especially to that stupendous miracle 
on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost de- 
scended on the apostles in visible form, and conferred 
on them the gift of tongues and other extraordinary 
endowments. All must admit, that if these events 
ever occurred, then there have existed undoubted 
miracles. 

II. The miracles of Jesus were performed, for the 
most part, in an open and public manner, in the pre- 
sence of multitudes of witnesses, under the inspection 
of learned and malignant enemies, in a great variety 
of circumstances, and for several years in succession. 
There was here no room for trick, sleight of hand, 
illusion of the senses, or any thing else which could 
impose on the spectators. This circumstance is im- 
portant, because it proves to a certainty, that the 
apostles themselves could not be deluded and deceived 
in the testimony which they have given. To suppose 
that they could think that they saw such miracles 
every day for years, and yet be deceived, would be 



100 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

nearly as extravagant a supposition, as that we were 
deceived in all that we ever experienced in our whole 
lives. 

III. The character of the miracles recorded in the 
gospels ought to be carefully observed. They were 
all worthy of the majesty, justice, and benevolence 
of the Son of God. They are characterized by dig- 
nity, propriety, and kindness. Most of them indeed 
were acts of tender compassion to the afflicted. Al- 
though so many miracles were performed, in so great 
a variety of circumstances, yet there is nothing ludi- 
crous, puerile, or vindictive in any of them. Christ 
never exerted his power to gratify the curiosity of 
any, or to supply his own daily wants. He made 
no ostentatious display of his wonderful power, and 
never used it to acquire wealth and influence. While 
he fed hungry multitudes by a miracle, he submitted 
to hunger and want himself; while he could com- 
mand all nature, he remained in poverty, not having 
so much as a home of any kind, to which he could 
retire to find repose. Although he was rejected and 
ill-treated by the Jews, he never refused to relieve 
any who sincerely sought his aid. His life, in conse- 
quence of the multitudes who flocked to him, was 
fatiguing, and on many accounts unpleasant, but he 
never grew weary in doing good. 

Let any man compare the narrative of the mira- 
cles of Christ, contained in the genuine gospels, with 
those fictitious accounts which may be found in the 
apocryphal and spurious gospels still extant, and he 
will be struck with the remarkable contrast between 
them. The same result will be the consequence of 
a comparison of the miracles of Christ with those 
ascribed to Mohammed by his followers, or those 
contained in the legends of the church of Rome. I 
know not how any impartial man can read atten- 
tively the account of the miracles recorded in the 
gospels, and not be convinced, from the very nature 
and circumstances of the facts reported, that they 
were real. 

IV, There are no signs of fraud or imposture to 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 101 

be discovered in the record itself. There is, on the 
contrary, every indication of truth, honesty, and good 
intention in the writers. Although they differ from 
each other in style and manner so much that it is 
evident the same person did not compose the four 
gospels; yet there is a character of style which be 
longs to the whole of them, and which is without a 
parallel among any writers but the penmen of the 
sacred Scriptures. It is an apparent exemption from 
the passions and frailties of human nature. The 
most stupendous miracles are related without one 
exclamation of wonder from the historian, and with- 
out the least appearance of a desire to excite the 
wonder of the reader. 

The character of Christ is drawn in no other way 
than by simply telling what he did and said. There 
is no portraying of character in the way of general 
description, or by using strong epithets to set him 
forth. There is perhaps no such thing in the gospel 
as an expression of admiration of any discourse or 
action, on the part of the evangelists. If they relate 
such things, they are the words of others which they 
faithfully set down. When they describe the suffer- 
ings of Christ, they never fall, as men usually do, into 
pathetic declamation. They are never carried away 
from their simple course by the power of sympathy. 
The facts are related as though the writer felt no- 
thing but the strong purpose of declaring the truth, 
without giving any colouring whatever to the facts. 
Neither do they indulge themselves in those vehe- 
ment expressions of indignation against the enemies 
of Christ, which we should naturally have expected. 
They never give utterance to a harsh expression 
against any one. They relate the treachery of Judas 
with the same unaffected simplicity as if they had no 
feelings relative to his base conduct. 

But there is something which exhibits the true 
character of the writers in a light still stronger. It 
is the manner in which they speak of themselves. 
Few men can write much concerning themselves 
without betraying the strength of self-love. Weak 

9* 



102 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

men, when they speak on this topic, are commonly 
disgusting: and even when persons seem willing to 
let the truth be known, there is usually an effort to 
seek compensation in something for every sacrifice 
which they make of reputation. But we may chal- 
lenge any one to designate any instance in which the 
least indication of this moral weakness has been 
given by the evangelists. They speak of themselves 
and their companions, with the same candour which 
characterizes their narrative in regard to others. 
They describe in the most artless manner, the low- 
ness of their origin, the meanness of their occupation, 
the grossness of their ignorance, the inveteracy of 
their prejudices, their childish contentions for supe- 
riority, their cowardice in the hour of danger, the 
fatal apostacy of one, and the temporary delinquen- 
cy of another of their number. If any person sup- 
poses that it is an easy thing to write as the evange- 
lists have done, he must have attended very little to 
the subject. It cannot be imitated even now when 
the model is fully before us. That these unlearned 
men should be able to write books at all with pro- 
priety, is wonderful. Few fishermen or mechanics, 
confined all their lives to laborious occupations and 
untutored in the art of composition, could produce, 
without committing great faults, a narrative of their 
own lives. But that men of such an education should 
possess such self-command and self-denial, as is ma- 
nifest in these compositions, cannot be accounted for 
on common principles. 

That, however, which deserves our special atten- 
tion, is the absence of all appearance of ill-design. I 
should like to ask a candid infidel to point out in the 
gospel, some fact or speech, which in the remotest 
degree tends to prove that the writers had a bad end 
in view. I need not say that he could find nothing 
of the kind. Then upon his hypothesis, we have this 
extraordinary fact, that four books, written by impos- 
tors who have imposed on the world a series of false- 
hoods, do in no part of them betray the least appear- 
ance of ill-design or sinister purpose. Certainly no 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 103 

other books written by deceivers possess the same 
characteristics. 

We have some instances of men of learning and 
piety manifesting uncommon candour, in the accounts 
which they have left of their own errors, prejudices, 
and faults; but in all of them you perceive the sem- 
blance, if not reality, of human frailty. These works, 
however, are very valuable. Some eminent infidels 
also have come forward before the world, with con- 
fessions and narratives of their lives, and even of 
their secret crimes. None has made himself more 
conspicuous in this way than J. J. Rousseau, who 
professes to exhibit to the world a full confession of 
his faults, during a period of many years. And to 
do him justice, he has exposed to view moral turpi- 
tude enough to make, if it were possible, a demon 
blush. But this infatuated man gloried in his shame, 
and declared it to be his purpose, when called before 
the tribunal of heaven, to appear with his book in 
hand and present it to his judge as his confession and 
apology. Through the transparent covering of affec- 
tation, we may observe the most disgusting pride and 
arrogance. While common sense and decency are 
outraged by a needless confession of deeds which 
ought not to be once named, he is so far from exhib- 
iting any thing of the character of a true penitent, 
that he rather appears as the shameless apologist of 
vice. By his unreserved disclosures he aspired to a 
new sort of reputation and glory. Perhaps there is 
not, in any language, a composition more strongly 
marked with pride and presumption. His confes- 
sions were manifestly made in a confidence of the 
corruption of mankind, from whom he expected 
much applause for his candour, and small censure for 
his vices; but as he has appealed to another tribunal, 
we may be permitted to doubt whether he will there 
find as much applause, and as slight condemnation, 
as he affected to expect. Between such impious 
confessions as these, and the simple, humble, and 
sober statements of the evangelists, there can be no 
comparison. 



104 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

There is only one thing in the style of the apostles, 
which I wish to bring into view. In all the detailed 
narratives which they have given of Jesus Christ, no 
allusion is ever made to his personal appearance. 
We are as much unacquainted with his stature, his 
aspect, his complexion, his gait and manner, as if the 
gospel had never been written. There is profound 
wisdom in this silence ; yet I doubt whether any 
writers, following merely the impulse of their own 
feelings, would have avoided every allusion to this 
subject. 

V. There is no just ground of objection to the tes- 
timony on account of the paucity of the witnesses. 
In regard to most facts handed down to us by authen- 
tic history, it is seldom that we have more than two 
or three historians testifying the same things; and in 
many cases we receive the testimony of one as suffi- 
cient, if all the circumstances of the fact corroborate 
his narrative. But here we have four distinct and 
independent witnesses, who were perfectly acquaint- 
ed with the fact which they relate. Two of these, 
Matthew and John, were of the number of the twelve 
who accompanied Jesus wherever he went, and saw 
from day to day the works which he performed. 
Mark and Luke might also have been eye-witnesses. 
Many think that they were of the number of the 
seventy disciples sent out by Christ to preach; but 
even if they were not, they may have been his fol- 
lowers, and often present in Jerusalem and other 
places where he performed his miracles. It is not 
necessary, however, to resort to either of these sup- 
positions. They were contemporaries, early disci- 
ples, constant companions of the apostles, and travel- 
led much among the churches. Mark was at first 
the companion of Paul and Barnabas, and afterwards 
attached himself to Peter, from whose preaching, ac- 
cording to the universal tradition of the early Fathers, 
he composed his gospel. Luke was chosen by the 
churches in Asia to accompany Paul in his labours, 
and was almost constantly with him until his first 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 105 

imprisonment at Rome; at which time his history of 
the life and labours of that apostle terminates. 

Besides these four evangelists, who have profes- 
sedly written an account of the miracles of Jesus 
Christ, we have the incidental testimony of those 
apostles who wrote the epistles, especially of Paul. 
It is true, Paul was not one of the twelve apostles 
who accompanied Christ on earth, but he became an 
apostle under circumstances which rendered his tes- 
timony as strong as that of any other witness. He 
informs us that he was met by Jesus near to Damas- 
cus, when he was "breathing out threatening and 
slaughter" against the disciples of Christ ; that he 
appeared to him in the midst of a resplendent light, 
and spoke to him. From that moment he became 
his devoted follower, and the most laborious and suc- 
cessful preacher of the gospel. He abandoned the 
most flattering worldly prospects which any young 
man in the Jewish nation could have. He possessed 
genius, learning, an unblemished character for reli- 
gion and morality; was in high favour with the chief 
men of his nation, and seems to have been more zeal- 
ous than any other individual to extirpate Christian- 
ity. How can it be accounted for, that he should 
suddenly become a Christian, unless he did indeed 
see the risen Jesus? Instead of bright worldly pros- 
pects which he had before, he was now subjected to 
persecution and contempt wherever he went. The 
catalogue of only a part of his sufferings, which he 
gives in one of his epistles, is enough to appal the 
stoutest heart; yet he never repented of his becoming 
a Christian, but continued to devote all his energies 
to the promotion of the gospel as long as he lived. 
This change, in a person of Paul's character and 
prospects, will never be accounted for upon the sup- 
position of imposture or enthusiasm.* Here, then, 
we can produce what deists often demand, the testi- 
mony of an enemy; not of one who was uncon- 
vinced by the evidence of Christianity, which would 

* See Lord Lyttleton's Conversion of Paul. 



106 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

be an inconsistent testimony and liable to great ob- 
jections; but of one whose mind had been long in- 
flamed with zeal against Christianity; and yet by the 
force of evidence was converted to be a zealous dis- 
ciple, and retained all his life a deep and unwavering 
conviction of the truth of the gospel* This man, 
although he has not written a gospel, has given 
repeated testimonies to the truth of the leading facts 
which are now in question. He is especially one of 
the best witnesses on the subject of the resurrection 
of Christ ; for he not only saw and conversed with 
Jesus after his ascension, but has informed us of some 
circumstances of great importance not mentioned by 
any of the evangelists. He asserts that Christ was 
seen by five hundred persons at one time, most of 
whom were still living when he wrote. If there had 
been any falsehood in this declaration, how soon 
must it have been detected ! His letters, no doubt, 
were immediately transcribed and conveyed to every 
part of the church; and how easy would it have been 
to prove the falsehood of such a declaration, if it had 
not been a fact! But almost every page of Paul's 
writings recognises as true the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. It is constantly assumed as a truth most 
assuredly believed by all Christians. It is the great 
motive to exertion and source of consolation, in all 
his epistles. And when he would convince certain 
heretics of the absurdity of denying the resurrection 
of the body, he reduces them to this conclusion, that 
" if the dead rise not, then is Christ not risen," which 
would be at once to subvert the Christian religion. 
His appeal to the common assured belief of Christians 
is remarkably strong and pertinent to our purpose: 
" If," says he, " Christ be not risen, then is our preach- 
ing vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we 

* There is a remarkable testimony to the extraordinary character 
and works of Jesus Christ, in Josephus, which has been rejected as 
spurious by modern critics; not for want of external evidence, for it 
is found in all the oldest and best manuscripts, but principally be- 
cause it is conceived that Josephus, being a Jew and a Pharisee, 
never could have given such a testimony in favour of one in whom 
he did not believe. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 107 

are found false witnesses of God ; because we have 
testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he 
raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not." Would 
any man in his senses have written thus, if the resur- 
rection of Christ had not been a fundamental article 
of faith among Christians, or if he had not been fully 
persuaded of its truth? Had Paul been an impostor, 
would he have dared to appeal to five hundred 
persons, most of whom were living, for the truth of 
what he knew to be false? How easy and how 
certain must have been the detection of an imposture 
thus conducted! 

The same is evident from the epistles of the other 
apostles, and from the Apocalypse. 

Now, when we can clearly ascertain what any per- 
sons believed in relation to a fact, we have virtually 
their testimony to that fact; because, when they come 
forward and give testimony explicitly, they do no 
more than express the conviction of their own minds. 
Certainly, then, if we can, by any means, ascertain 
what the primitive Christians believed in regard to 
the resurrection of Christ and other miraculous facts, 
we are in possession of all the testimony which they 
could give.* This is an important point as it relates 
to the number of witnesses. Now, that all Chris- 
tians, from the beginning, did believe in the facts 
recorded in the gospels and epistles of the apostles, 
we have the strongest possible evidence. It is 
proved incontestably from the fact of their becoming 
Christians; for how could they be Christians with- 
out faith in Christianity ? unless any one will be so 
extravagant as to believe, that not only the apostles, 
but all their converts, were wilful deceivers. It is 
proved also from the manner in which Christians are 
addressed by the apostles in all their epistles. Sup- 
pose, for a moment, that the Corinthian Church had 
no belief in the resurrection of Christ, when they 
received the above mentioned epistle from Paul, 
would they not have considered him perfectly in- 
sane ? But the universal reception of the gospels 

* See Dr. Channing's Dudleian Lecture. 



108 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and epistles, by all Christian churches throughout 
the world, is the best possible evidence that they 
believed what they contained. These books were 
adopted as the creed and guide of all Christians. 
It is manifest, therefore, that we are in possession of 
the testimony of the whole primitive church, to the 
truth of the miracles recorded in the gospels. Sup- 
pose a document had come down to us, containing a 
profession of the belief of every person who embraced 
the Christian religion, and a solemn attestation to 
the facts on which Christianity is founded, would 
any man object that the witnesses were too few? 
The fact is, that we have substantially this whole 
body of testimony. I do not perceive, that its force 
would have been sensibly greater had it been trans- 
mitted to us with all the formalities just mentioned. 
There is, therefore, no defect in the number of wit- 
nesses. If every one of the twelve apostles had 
written a gospel, and a hundred other persons had 
done the same, the evidence would not be essentially 
improved. We should have no more, after all, than 
the testimony of the whole primitive church, which, 
as has been proved, we possess already. 

VI. The credibility of the testimony is not im- 
paired by any want of agreement among the wit- 
nesses. In their attestation to the leading facts and 
to the doctrines and character of Christ, they are per- 
fectly harmonious. The selection of facts by the 
several evangelists is different, and the same fact is 
sometimes related more circumstantially by one than 
another; but there is no inconsistency between them. 
In their general character and prominent features, 
there is a beautiful harmony in the gospels. There 
is no difference which can effect, in the judgment of 
the impartial, the credibility of the testimony which 
they contain. If all the evangelists had recorded 
precisely the same facts, and all the circumstances in 
the same order, the gospels, would appear to have 
been written in concert, which would weaken their 
testimony. But it is almost demonstrable, from in* 
ternal evidence, that the evangelists, with the excep- 






EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 109 

tion of John, never had seen each other's productions 
before they wrote. Their agieement therefore ought 
to have the effect of witnesses examined apart from 
each other; and their discrepancies serve to prove 
that there could be no concerted scheme to deceive; 
for in that case every appearance of this kind would 
have been carefully removed. 

I am aware, that on the ground of supposed con- 
tradictions or irreconcilable discrepancies, the most 
formidable attacks have been made on Christianity. 
It is entirely incompatible with the narrow limits of 
this essay to enter into a consideration of the various 
methods which have been adopted for harmonizing 
the gospels, and removing the difficulties which 
arise from their variations. I can only make a few 
general observations, with the view of leading the 
reader to the proper principles of solution. 

It ought to be kept in mind, that the gospels were 
written almost two thousand years ago, in a language 
not now spoken, and in a remote country, whose 
manners and customs were very different from ours. 
In all such cases, there will be obscurities and diffi- 
culties, arising entirely from the imperfection of our 
knowledge. 

The gospels do not purport to be regular histories 
of events, arranged in exact, chronological order, but 
a selection of important facts out of a much greater 
number left unnoticed. The time when, or the place 
where, these facts occurred, is of no consequence to 
the end contemplated by the evangelists. In their 
narratives, therefore, they have sometimes pursued 
the order of time ; in other cases, the arrangement 
has been suggested by the subject previously treated, 
or by some other circumstance. 

In recording a miracle, the number of persons 
benefited is not of much consequence; the miracle is 
the same, whether sight be restored to one person or 
two: or whether demons be expelled from one or 
many. If one historian, intent on recording the ex- 
traordinary fact, selects the case of one person, which 
might in some respects be more remarkable, and 

10 



110 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

another mentions two, there is no contradiction. If 
they professed to give an accurate account of the 
number healed, there would be ground for this ob- 
jection; but this was no part of the design of the 
evangelists. 

If a writer, in order to exhibit the skill of an ocu- 
list, should mention a remarkable instance of sight 
being restored to a person who had been long blind, 
it could not be fairly inferred from the narrative that 
no person received the same benefit at that time; 
and if another person should give a distinct account 
of all the cases, there would be no contradiction be- 
tween these witnesses. All the difference is, that 
one selects a prominent fact out of many; the other 
descends to all particulars. 

There is no source of difficulty more usual than 
the confounding of things which are distinct. The^ 
narratives of events truly distinct may have so strik- 
ing a similarity, that the cursory reader will be apt 
to confound them. It has been remarked that if the 
two miracles of feeding the multitude had been men- 
tioned by two different evangelists, each giving an 
account of one case, it would have been supposed 
by many that they were accounts of the same occur- 
rence, and that the evangelists did not agree in their 
testimony; but in this case, both these miracles are 
distinctly related by the same evangelist, and dis- 
tinctly referred to by Christ in his conversation with 
his disciples. This confounding of distinct things is 
never more commonly done, than when a fact was 
attended with a great number of circumstances and 
occurrences, rapidly succeeding each other, and the 
historian mentions only a few out of many. This 
remark is fully verified with respect to Christ's resur- 
rection. The narrative of all the evangelists is very 
concise. Few particulars are mentioned; and yet 
from the nature of the case, there must have been 
an extraordinary degree of agitation among the dis- 
ciples ; a great running from one part of Jerusalem 
to another, to tell the news ; and a frequent passing 
to and from the sepulchre. It is not wonderful, 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. Ill 

therefore, that, as each evangelist mentions only a 
few of the accompanying occurrences, there should 
seem, at first view, to be some discrepancy in their 
accounts. Companies of women are mentioned by 
each, and it is hastily taken for granted that they 
were all the same ; and the objector proceeds on the 
supposition, that these women all arrived at the 
sepulchre at the same time, and that they continued 
together. He forgets to take into view, that the 
persons who might agree to meet at the sepulchre, 
probably lodged at very different distances from the 
place, and allows nothing for the agitation and dis- 
traction produced by the reports and visions of this 
interesting morning. But on this, as on several other 
subjects, we are indebted to the enemies of revelation 
for being the occasion of bringing forward able men, 
who have shed so much light on this part of the 
gospel history, that even the appearance of discre- 
pancy is entirely removed.* 

The genealogy of Jesus Christ, as given by Mat- 
thew and Luke, has furnished to modern infidels 
much occasion of cavil ; but it ought to be sufficient 
to silence these objectors that the early enemies of 
Christianity made no objections on this ground. If 
one of these is the genealogy of Joseph and the other 
of Mary, there will be no discrepancy between them. 
Why it was proper to give the descent of Joseph the 
husband of Mary, it is not now necessary to inquire. 
But on this whole subject I would remark, that we 
are very little acquainted with the plan on which 
genealogical tables were constructed. It seems to 
have been a very intricate business, and it is not 
surprising that we should be at a loss to elucidate 
every difficulty. Again, it is highly probable that 
these lists were taken from some genealogical tables 
of the tribe and family of the persons to whom they 
refer. Every family must have had access to such 
tables, on account of their inheritance. Public tables 
of acknowledged authority would be far better for 

* See West on the Resurrection; Townson; Macknight; Ditton; 
Sherlock, &c. 



112 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

the purpose which the evangelists had in view than 
new ones, even though these should have been more 
full and accurate. These genealogies had no other 
object than to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was a 
lineal descendant of David and Abraham; which 
purpose is completely answered by them; and there 
are no difficulties which may not be accounted for 
by our ignorance of the subject. 

Finally, it may be admitted that some slight inac- 
curacies have crept into the copies of the New Testa- 
ment, through the carelessness of transcribers. It is 
impossible for men to write the whole of a book 
without making some mistakes ; and if th ere be some 
small discrepancies in the gospels with respect to 
names and numbers, they ought to be attributed to 
this cause. 

VII. The witnesses of the miracles of Christ could 
have had no conceivable motive for propagating an 
imposture. That they were not themselves deceived 
is manifest from the nature of the facts, and from the 
full opportunity which they had of examining them. 
It is evident, therefore, that if the miracles recorded 
by them never existed, they were wilful impostors. 
They must have wickedly combined to impose upon 
the world. But what motives could have influenced 
them to pursue such a course we cannot imagine ; or 
how men of low condition and small education should 
have ever conceived it possible to deceive the world 
in such a case is equally inconceivable. These men 
had worldly interests which it was natural for them 
to regard: but every thing of this kind was fully re- 
linquished. They engaged in an enterprise not only 
dangerous, but attended with certain and immediate 
ruin to all their worldly interests. They exposed 
themselves to the indignation of all authority, and to 
the outrageous fury 6f the multitude. They must 
have foreseen, that they would bring down upon 
themselves the vengeance of the civil and ecclesias- 
tical powers, and that every species of suffering 
awailed them. Their leader was crucified, and what 
could hey expect from declaring that he was alive, 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 113 

and had performed wonderful miracles? If they 
could have entertained any hopes of exemption from 
evils so apparent, experience must soon have con- 
vinced them that they had engaged not only in a 
wicked, but most unprofitable undertaking. It was 
not long after they began their testimony, before 
they were obliged to endure unrelenting persecution 
from Jews and Gentiles. Could they have been 
influenced by a regard to fame? What renown could 
they expect from proclaiming a crucified man to be 
their master, and the ground of all their hope and 
confidence? If this was their object, why did they 
give all the glory to another who was dead ? But 
the fact is that instead of fame they met with infamy. 
No name was ever more derided and hated than that 
of Christian. They were vilified as the most con- 
temptible miscreants that ever lived, as the refuse 
and offscouring of all things, as the pests and distur- 
bers of society, and the enemies of the gods. They 
were pursued as outlaws, and punished for no other 
reason but because they acknowledged themselves 
to be Christians. Would men persevere in propaga- 
ting an imposture for such fame as this? It cannot 
be supposed that they expected their compensation 
in another world; for the supposition is that they 
were wilful impostors, who were every day asserting, 
in the most solemn manner, what they knew to be 
false. It would be just as reasonable to suppose that 
the murderer or highway robber is influenced in the 
commission of his atrocious crimes, by the hope of a 
future reward. 

The only alternative is to suppose that they were 
fanatics, as it is known that men under the govern- 
ment of enthusiasm contemn all the common conside- 
rations which usually influence human conduct, and 
often act in a way totally unaccountable. This repre- 
sentation of enthusiasm is just, but it will not answer 
the purpose for which it is adduced. Enthusiasts are 
always strongly persuaded of the truth of the religion 
which they wish to propagate; but these men, upon 
the hypothesis under consideration, knew that all 

10*. 



114 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

which they said was false. Enthusiasm and impos- 
ture are irreconcilable. It is true that what begins in 
enthusiasm may end in imposture; but in this case 
the imposture must have been the beginning, as well 
as the end, of the whole business. There was no 
room for enthusiasm; all was imposture, if the facts 
reported were not true. But the best evidence that 
the evangelists were not fanatics, is derived from 
their writings. These are at the greatest remove 
from the ravings or reveries of enthusiasm. They 
are the most simple, grave, and dispassionate narra- 
tives that ever were written. The writers are actu- 
ated by no phrensy; they give no indication of a 
heated imagination; they speak uniformly the lan- 
guage of " truth and soberness/' 

VIII. But if we could persuade ourselves, that the 
apostles might have been actuated by some unknown 
and inconceivable motive, to forge the whole account 
of Christ's miracles, and were impelled by some un- 
accountable phrensy to persevere through all difficul- 
ties and sufferings to propagate lies ; can we believe 
that they could have found followers in the very 
country, and in the very city, where the miracles 
were stated to have been performed? 

When these accounts of stupendous and numer- 
ous miracles were published in Jerusalem, where the 
apostles began their testimony, what would the peo- 
ple think? Would they not say, " These men bring 
strange things to our ears. They tell us of wonders 
wrought among us, of which we have never before 
heard. And they would not only have us to believe 
their incredible story, but forsake all that we have, 
abandon our friends, and relinquish the religion of 
our forefathers, received from God: and not only so, 
but bring upon ourselves and families the vengeance 
of those that rule over us, and the hatred and reproach 
of all men." Is it possible to believe that one sane 
person would have received their report ? 

Besides, the priests and rulers who had put Jesus 
to death, were deeply interested to prevent the cir- 
culation of such a story ; it implicated them in a hor- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 115 

rid crime. Would they not have exerted themselves 
to lay open the forgery, and would there have been 
the least difficulty in accomplishing the object, if the 
testimony of these witnesses had been false? The 
places of many of the miracles are recorded, and the 
names of the persons healed or raised from the dead, 
are mentioned. It was only one or two miles to the 
dwelling of Lazarus; how easy would it have been 
to prove that the story of his resurrection was a false- 
hood, had it not been a fact! Jerusalem, and indeed 
the temple itself, were the scenes of many of the mi- 
racles ascribed to Christ. As he spent much time in 
that city, it is presumable that not a person residing 
there could have been totally ignorant of facts which 
must have occupied the attention and excited the 
curiosity of the public. An imposture like this could 
never be successful in such circumstances. The pre- 
sence of an interested, inimical, and powerful body 
of men, would soon have put down every attempt at 
an imposition so gross and groundless. If the apos- 
tles had pretended that at some remote period, or in 
some remote country, a man had performed miracles, 
they might have persuaded some weak and credu- 
lous persons; but they appealed to the people to 
whom they preached, as the witnesses of what they 
related. No more than a few weeks had elapsed 
after the death of Jesus, before this testimony was 
published in Jerusalem : and notwithstanding all the 
opposition of those in authority, it was received, and 
multitudes willingly offered themselves as the disci- 
ples of him whom they had recently crucified. 

IX. The last particular which I shall mention, to 
set the testimony of the witnesses to the miracles of 
the gospel in its true light, is that there is no counter 
testimony. These witnesses have never been con- 
fronted and contradicted by others. Whatever force 
or probability their declarations are entitled to, from 
the circumstances of the case and from the evidences 
which we possess of their integrity and intelligence, 
suffers no deduction on account of other persons 
giving a different testimony. 



116 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The Jewish priests and rulers did indeed cause a 
story to be circulated relative to the dead body of 
Christ, contrary to the testimony of the apostles which 
has been handed down to us by the evangelists. 
They hired the soldiers to report that Christ's disci- 
ples had come by night and stolen the body while 
they slept, a story too absurd and inconsistent to re- 
quire a moment's refutation. But as the body was 
gone out of their possession, they could not perhaps 
have invented any thing more plausible. It proved 
nothing, however, except that the body was removed 
while the soldiers slept, and for aught they could 
testify, might have risen from the dead, according to 
the testimony of the apostles. 

Deists sometimes demand the testimony of the 
enemies as well as the friends of Christianity. To 
which I would reply, that the silence of enemies is 
all that can reasonably be expected from them. That 
they should come forward voluntarily with testimony 
in favour of a religion which, through prejudice or 
worldly policy, they opposed, could not reasonably 
be expected. Since they would have contradicted 
these facts if it had been in their power, their not 
doing so furnishes the strongest negative evidence 
which we can possess. And no other evidence than 
that which is negative or merely incidental, ought to 
be expected from the enemies of the gospel ; unless, 
like Paul, they were convinced by the evidence ex- 
hibited to them. But no denial of the reality of the 
miracles of Christ has reached us from any quarter. 
As far as we have any accounts, there is no reason 
to think that they were ever denied by his most im- 
placable enemies; they said that he performed his 
works by help of Beelzebub. The first heathen wri- 
ters against Christianity did not dare to deny Christ's 
miracles. Neither Celsus, Porphyry, Hierocles, nor 
Julian, pretend that these facts were entirely false; 
for they attempted to account for them. The Jewish 
rabbies, in the Talmud, acknowledge these miracles, 
and pretend that they were wrought by magic, or by 
the power of the venerable name of Jehovah, called 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 117 

tetragrammaton, which they ridiculously pretended 
that Jesus stole out of the temple, and by which they 
say he performed his wonderful works. 

From what has been said, I trust it is sufficiently 
manifest that we have such testimony for the mira- 
cles of the New Testament, as will render them cre- 
dible in the view of all impartial persons. We have 
shown that the miracles recorded are real miracles; 
that they were performed in an open and public 
manner; that the witnesses could not possibly have 
been deceived themselves; that enemies had every 
opportunity and motive for disproving the facts, if 
they had not been true; that there is every evidence 
of sincerity and honesty in the evangelists; that the 
epistles of the apostles furnish strong collateral proof 
of the same facts; that all Christians from the begin- 
ning must have believed in these miracles, and they 
must therefore be considered competent witnesses; 
that none of the witnesses could have any motive to 
deceive ; that they never could have succeeded in 
imposing such a fraud on the world, even if they 
could have attempted it; that it would have been 
the easiest thing in the world for the Jewish rulers 
to have silenced such reports if they had been false ; 
that the commencement of preaching at Jerusalem, 
and the success of Christianity there, cannot be ac- 
counted for on any other supposition than the truth 
of the miracles; that the conduct of the apostles in 
going to the most enlightened countries and cities, 
and their success in those places, can never be recon- 
ciled with the idea that they were ignorant impos- 
tors; and finally, that no contrary evidence exists, but 
that even the early enemies of Christianity have 
been obliged to admit that such miracles were per- 
formed. 

When all these things are fairly and fully con- 
sidered, is it not more probable that miracles were 
performed, than that such a body of testimony, so 
corroborated by circumstances, and by effects, reach- 
ing to our own times, should be false ? 

If all this testimony is false, we may call in ques 



118 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

tion all historical testimony whatever; for what facts 
have ever been so fully attested? 

But why should this testimony be rejected? No 
reason has ever been assigned, except that the facts 
were miraculous: but we have shown that it is not 
unreasonable to expect miracles in such a case, and 
that miracles are capable of satisfactory proof from 
testimony. It is, therefore, a just conclusion, that 
the Miracles of the Gospel are credible. 



CHAPTER VIIL 



THE RAPID AND EXTENSIVE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL, BY INSTRUMENTS 
SO FEW AND FEEBLE, IS A PROOF OF DIVINE INTERPOSITION. 



The success of the gospel, under the circumstances 
of its first publication, is one of the most wonderful 
events recorded in history; and it is a fact beyond 
all dispute. In a little time, thousands of persons 
embraced the Christian religion in Jerusalem, and 
in other parts of Judea. In heathen countries its 
success was still more astonishing. Churches were 
planted in all the principal cities of the Roman Em- 
pire, before half a century had elapsed from the 
resurrection of Christ. The fires of persecution raged ; 
thousands and tens of thousands of unoffending Chris- 
tians were put to death, in a cruel manner ; yet this 
cause seemed to prosper the more, so that it became 
a proverb, that "the blood of the martyrs was the 
seed of the Church." And it went on increasing and 
prevailing, until in less than three centuries, it be- 
came the religion of the empire. 

That the Christian religion did actually prevail and 
was widely extended within a short period after its 
first publication, is matter of undoubted history. The 
testimony confirming this fact is not derived merely 
from the authority of Christian writers however nu- 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 119 

merous, but also from that of the most respectable 
heathen historians. Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny 
have all borne witness to the fact, that Christianity- 
was extensively prevalent in their day; and as such 
impartial witnesses who did not believe in Christian- 
ity but held it in abhorrence, is of great weight in 
establishing this fact, and it may not be easily acces- 
sible to the reader, a translation of their words is 
here subjoined. 

Tacitus lived during the first century of the Chris- 
tian era; and his high character as an historian is 
known to all. After describing the destructive fire 
which desolated Rome, he proceeds thus: "But nei- 
ther by human aid, nor by the costly largesses by 
which he attempted to propitiate the gods, was the 
prince able to remove from himself the infamy which 
had attached to him in the opinion of all, for having 
ordered the conflagration. To suppress this rumour, 
therefore, Nero caused others to be accused, on whom 
he inflicted exquisite torments, who were already 
hated by the people for their crimes, and were vul- 
garly denominated Christians. This name they 
derived from Christ their leader, who in the reign 
of Tiberius was put to death as a criminal, while 
Pontius Pilate was procurator. This destructive 
superstition, repressed for a while, again broke out, 
and spread not only through Judea where it origina- 
ted, but reached this city also, into which flow all 
things that are vile and abominable, and where they 
are encouraged. At first, they only were seized who 
confessed that they belonged to this sect, and after- 
wards, a vast multitude, by the information of those 
who were condemned, not so much for the crime of 
burning the city, as for hatred of the human race. 
These, clothed in the skins of wild beasts, were ex- 
posed to derision, and were either torn to pieces by 
dogs, or were affixed to crosses : or when the daylight 
was past, were set on fire, that they might serve 
instead of lamps for the night." 

Suetonius also lived in the first century, but his 
life extended into the second. His character as a 



120 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

well informed and correct historian is also high. His 
testimony is as follows: "He [Claudius] banished the 
Jews from Rome who were continually raising dis- 
turbances, Christ (Chrestus) being their leader." And 
in the life of Nero, he says, " The Christians were 
punished, a sort of men of a new and magical religion." 
But the fact which we wish to establish is, perhaps, 
more fully confirmed by the testimony of Pliny the 
younger, than by any other Roman writer. It is 
contained in a letter addressed by this distinguished 
philosopher to the emperor Trajan, in the begin- 
ning of the second century. " Pliny, to the emperor 
Trajan, wisheth health, &c. It is my custom, Sir, to 
refer all things to you of which I entertain any doubt ; 
for who can better direct me in my hesitation or 
instruct my ignorance? I was never before present 
at any of the trials of the Christians; so that I am 
ignorant both of the matter to be inquired into, and 
of the nature of the punishment which should be 
inflicted, and to what length the investigation is to 
be extended. I have, moreover, been in great uncer- 
tainty whether any difference ought to be made on 
account of age, between the young and tender, and 
the robust ; and also whether any place should be 
allowed for repentance and pardon; or whether those 
who have once been Christians should be punished, 
although they have now ceased to be such, and 
whether punishment should be inflicted merely on 
account of the name, where no crimes are charged, 
or whether crimes connected with the name are the 
proper object of punishment. This, however, is the 
method which I have pursued in regard to those 
who were brought before me as Christians/ I inter- 
rogated them whether they were Christians ; and 
upon their confessing that they were, I put the ques- 
tion to them a second, and a third time, threatening 
them with capital punishment ; and when they per- 
sisted in their confession, I ordered them to be led 
away to execution; for whatever might be the nature 
of their crime, I could not doubt that perverseness 
and inflexible obstinacy deserve to be punished. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 121 

There were others, addicted to the same insanity, 
whom, because they were Roman citizens, I have 
noted down to be sent to the city. In a short space, 
the crime diffusing itself, as is common, a great 
variety of cases have fallen under my cognizance 
An anonymous libel was exhibited to me, containing 
the names of many persons who denied that they 
were Christians or ever had been: and as an evi- 
dence of their sincerity, they joined me in an address 
to the gods, and to your image, which I had ordered 
to be brought along with the images of the gods for 
this very purpose. Moreover, they sacrificed with 
wine and frankincense, and blasphemed the name 
of Christ : none of which things can those who are 
really Christians be constrained to do. Therefore I 
judged it proper to dismiss them. Others, named by 
the informer, at first confessed themselves to be Chris- 
tians, and afterwards denied it ; and some asserted 
that although they had been Christians, they had 
ceased to be such for more than three years, and 
some as much as twenty years. All these worship- 
ped your image and the statues of the gods, and exe- 
crated Christ. But they affirmed that this was the 
sum of their fault or error, that they were accus- 
tomed, on a stated day, to meet together before day, 
to sing a hymn to Christ in concert, as to a God, and 
to bind themselves by a solemn oath not to commit 
any wickedness — but on the contrary, to abstain from 
theft, robbery, and adultery — also, never to violate 
their promise, nor deny a pledge committed to them. 
These things being performed, it was their custom to 
separate ; and to meet again at a promiscuous, inno- 
cent meal; which, however, they had omitted, from 
the time of the publication of my edict, by which, 
according to your orders, I forbad assemblies of this 
sort. On receiving this account, I judged it to be 
more necessary to examine by torture, two females, 
who were called deaconesses. But I discovered no- 
thing except a depraved and immoderate superstition. 
Whereupon, suspending further judicial proceedings, 
I have recourse to you for advice; for it has appeared 

11 



122 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

to me that the subject is highly deserving of conside- 
ration, especially on account of the great number of 
persons whose lives are put into jeopardy. Many 
persons of all ages, sexes, and conditions are accused, 
and many more will be in the same situation ; for 
the contagion of this superstition has not merely per- 
vaded the cities, but also all villages and country 
places; yet it seems to me that it might be restrained 
and corrected. It is a matter of fact, that the temples 
which were almost deserted begin again to be fre- 
quented ; and the sacred solemnities which had been 
long intermitted are again attended; and victims for 
the altars are now readily sold, which, a while ago, 
were almost without purchasers. Whence it is easy 
to conjecture what a multitude of men might be re- 
claimed, if only the door to repentance was left 
open." 

To which the emperor replied as follows : — " Tra- 
jan to Pliny — Health and happiness. 

" You have taken the right method, my Pliny, in 
dealing with those who have been brought before you 
as Christians; for it is impossible to establish any 
universal rule which will apply to all cases. They 
should not be sought after; but when they are 
brought before you and convicted, they must be 
punished. Nevertheless, if any one deny that he is 
a Christian, and confirm his assertion by his conduct; 
that is, by worshipping our gods, although he may 
be suspected of having been one in time past, let him 
obtain pardon on repentance. But in no case permit 
a libel against any one to be received, unless it be 
signed by the person who presents it, for that would 
be a dangerous precedent, and in no wise suitable to 
the present age." 

Other heathen testimonies might be adduced, and 
which may be seen in " Lardner's heathen testimo- 
nies;" but for the sake of brevity they are omitted. 
And the testimonies of the two Christian fathers — 
Iren^us and Tertullian, who both lived at the 
close of the second, and beginning of the third cen- 
tury, will be sufficient to show, beyond all controver- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 123 

sy, how extensively the Christian religion prevailed 
in their day. 

Irenasus, speaking of the uniformity of the faith of 
Christians, says, " Neither do those churches which 
are established among the Germans believe or teach 
otherwise; nor do those among the Hiberii or the 
Celts; nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, 
nor those in Libya, nor those established in the cen- 
tral parts of the world."* 

The language of Tertullian is still more to our 
purpose, and nothing further will be needed in the 
way of testimony, to show the extent of Christianity 
in less than one century after the death of the last of 
the apostles. " In whom/' says he, "but the Christ 
now come, have all nations believed ? for in whom 
do all other nations (but yours, the Jews) confide? 
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the dwellers in 
Mesopotamia, Armenia, Phrygia, Cappadocia, and 
the inhabitants of Pontus, Asia, and Pamphylia; the 
dwellers in Egypt, and inhabitants of Africa beyond 
Cyrene; Romans and strangers; and in Jerusalem, 
both Jews and proselytes; — so that the various tribes 
of the Getuli, and the numerous hordes of the Mau- 
ri; all the Spanish clans and different nations of 
Gauls, and the provinces of the Britons inaccessible 
to the Romans, but subdued by Christ — and of the 
Samaritans and Dacians, and Germans, and Scythi- 
ans; and many unexplored nations, and countries, 
and islands unknown to us, and which we cannot 
enumerate — in all which places the name of the 
Christ who has come, now reigns; for who could 
reign over all these but Christ, the Son of God?"t 

There is another testimony of this father, in his 
Apology, which was written a little before the close 
of the second century; and seems to have been ad- 
dressed to the Proconsul of Africa, and to the other 
praefects of that province, of which he was an inhab- 
itant. He there speaks in the following manner: — 

If we Christians were disposed to array ourselves 

* Iren. Adv. Hoer. 1. 1, c. X. 

t Tertullian Contra JucUeos. cap. 7. 



a 



124 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

as open or secret enemies of our opposers, a sufficient 
force of numbers is not wanting to us. Many of the 
Moors and Marcomanni, as well as other tribes more 
remote, even to the very ends of the earth, and 
throughout the world, are with us. We are but of 
yesterday, and yet we have filled all your places; 
your cities, your islands, your castles, your towns, 
your council houses, your very camps, your tribes, 
your palace, your senate, your forum. We have left 
you nothing but your temples. If we should break 
away from you and should remove into some other 
country, the mere loss of so many citizens would 
overwhelm your government; and would itself be 
an effectual punishment. Doubtless you would be 
frightened at your own solitude. The silence and 
stupor which you would witness, would cause the 
world over which you reign to appear as dead. 
Your enemies would then be more than your citizens 
who should remain."* It will be unnecessary to 
adduce more testimonies, for the fact is undisputed; 
and in a short time the majority of the empire were 
professedly Christians. 

Learned infidels have in vain attempted to assign 
an adequate cause for this event on natural princi- 
ples. Gibbon exerted all his ingenuity to account for 
the progress and establishment of Christianity; but 
though he has freely indulged conjecture, and disre- 
garded the testimony of Christians, his efforts have 
been unavailing. The account which he has given 
is entirely unsatisfactory. Upon the deistical hypo- 
thesis, it is a grand revolution without any adequate 
cause. That a few unlearned and simple men, most- 
ly fishermen of Galilee, without power or patronage, 
and employing no other weapons but persuasion, 
should have been successful in changing the religion 
of the world, must forever remain an unaccountable 
thing, unless we admit the reality of miracles and 
supernatural aid. 

The argument from the rapid and extensive pro- 

* Tertull. Apologeticus. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 125 

gress of the gospel may be estimated, if we consider 
the following circumstances. 

1. The insufficiency of the instruments to accom- 
plish such a work, without supernatural aid. They 
had neither the learning nor address to make such an 
impression on the minds of men, as was requisite to 
bring about such a revolution. It would have been 
impracticable for a few unlettered Jews to acquire 
the languages of all the nations, among whom the 
gospel spread in so short a time. They must have 
had the gift of tongues, or this conquest could never 
have been achieved. Besides, it ought to be remem- 
bered, that Jews were held in great contempt by all 
the surrounding nations. A few persons of this 
nation, exhibiting a very mean appearance, as must 
have been the case, would have called forth nothing 
but derision and contempt, in any of the large cities 
of the empire. It is more unlikely that they could 
have been able to make many converts, than that a 
few poor Jewish mechanics should now proselyte to 
Judaism vast multitudes in all the principal cities of 
Europe and America.* 

2. The places in which the gospel was first preach- 
ed and had greatest success, furnish proof that it 
could not have been propagated merely by human 
means. These were not obscure corners, remote 
from the lights of science, but the most populous and 
polished cities, where every species of the learning of 
the age was concentrated, and whither men of learn- 
ing resorted. Damascus, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, 
Philippi and Rome furnished the theatre for the first 
preachers of the gospel. It is believed, that there 
was no conspicuous city in the central part of the 
Roman empire, in which the Christian church was 
not planted before the death of the apostles. And it 
ought to be remembered, that this did not occur in a 
dark age, but in what is acknowledged by all to be 
the most enlightened age of antiquity: it was the 
period which immediately succeeded the Augustan 

L* See Dr. S. S. Smith's Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity. 

11* 



126 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Age, so much and so deservedly celebrated for its 
classical authors. If the gospel had been an impos- 
ture, its propagators would never have gone to such 
places in the first instance ; or, if they had, they could 
not have escaped detection. 

3. The obstacles to be overcome were great, and 
insurmountable by human effort. The people were 
all attached to the respective superstitions in which 
they had been educated, and which were all adapted 
to retain their hold on corrupt minds. How difficult 
it is to obtain even a hearing from the people in such 
circumstances, is manifest from the experience of all 
missionaries in modern times. Philosophers, priests, 
and rulers, were combined against them. All that 
learning, eloquence, prejudice, interest, and power, 
could oppose to them, stood in their way. 

Not only were priests, philosophers, and rulers 
combined against them, but the prejudices of the 
multitude in favour of the corrupt religion in which 
they had been educated, inspired them with a furious 
zeal in opposition to all attempts to convert them 
from their errors. In the Acts of the Apostles, we 
have many instances recorded of the blind fury of 
the people leading them to acts of outrage and vio- 
lence towards the first preachers of the gospel, both 
among Jews and Gentiles. In one of these tumults, 
Stephen was martyred ; and in another, which took 
place in the temple, Paul had like to have been torn 
to pieces by the violence of the people. And at 
Ephesus, we know what a tumult was excited by 
Demetrius the silversmith; and at several other places. 
But it appears that only a few of these tumults which 
extended to personal violence, are recorded in tha 
Acts, for Paul in his second epistle to the Corinthi- 
ans writes thus : — " Of the Jews five times received 
I forty stripes save one. Three times was I beaten 
with rods — once was I stoned." And it is probable 
that all the apostles and primitive preachers expe- 
rienced similar treatment; and had they not been 
divinely supported and aided, they would never have 
been able to withstand such infuriated opposition; 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 127 

much less could they have brought over thousands 
and tens of thousands to subject themselves to the 
yoke of Christ, and expose themselves to the same 
ignominy and persecution to which they were con- 
tinually exposed themselves. 

4. The terms of discipleship which the apostles 
proposed, and the doctrines which they preached, 
were not adapted to allure and flatter the people, 
but must have been very repulsive to the minds of 
men. Impostors, when they attempt to propagate 
a new religion, always endeavour to adapt their doc- 
trines and precepts to the tastes of the people whom 
they aim to proselyte. But the author of Christianity 
and his apostles pursued no such man-pleasing course. 
Their first requisition was that men should deny 
themselves, and take up their cross. Their hearers 
were commanded to repent and forsake all their sins, 
however profitable, pleasant, or inveterate. They 
were peremptorily required to forsake all their world- 
ly possessions," and even their nearest and dearest 
friends, for the sake of the gospel. And this was not 
all; they were explicitly told, that they must hold 
themselves ready to sacrifice life itself when they 
could not preserve it without disobeying Christ. And 
no prospect of ease or honour in this world was held 
out to them, but they were assured, that persecution 
awaited them as long as they lived, and that through 
much tribulation they must pass; and that their only 
reward was spiritual peace, and eternal life in the 
world to come. Would any impostors have been so 
stupid as to propose such terms, or if they could have 
been so foolish, can any one believe that they would 
have been successful in converting the world to em- 
brace their system? Nothing more is necessary to 
prove that the Christian religion was divine, than to 
contemplate the terms of discipleship, and then con- 
sider the multitude of converts of all ages, ranks, and 
countries. And the prospect of persecution and death, 
held up to the first disciples by Christ and his apos- 
tles, was fully realized, and yet the success of Chris- 
tianity was irresistible. Many Christians were cut off 



128 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

oy persecution, but still Christianity made progress, 
and was extended in all directions. Because Chris- 
tianity increased and flourished under bloody perse- 
cutions, many persons have adopted it as a maxim, 
that persecution has a tendency to promote any 
cause; than which it is difficult to conceive of any 
thing more contrary to common sense and experi- 
ence. In most cases, by cutting off the leaders of a 
party, however furious their fanaticism, the cause 
will decline and soon become extinct. The increase 
of Christianity, under ten bloody persecutions, can 
only be accounted for, by supposing that God by 
his grace persuaded men to embrace the truth, and 
inspired them with more than heroic fortitude in 
suffering for the sake of their religion. Many of the 
primitive Christians attested the truth by martyrdom. 
They sealed their testimony with their blood. To 
this argument it is sometimes answered, that men may 
suffer martyrdom for a false as well as a true reli- 
gion, and that, in fact, men have been willing to die 
for opinions in direct opposition to each other. While 
this is admitted, it does not affect the argument now 
adduced. All that dying for an opinion can prove 
(and of this it is the best possible evidence,) is the 
sincerity of the witnesses. But in the case before us 
the sincerity of the witnesses proves the facts in ques- 
tion ; for we have seen that they could not them- 
selves have been deceived. Every martyr had the 
opportunity of knowing the truth of the facts on 
which Christianity was founded; and by suffering 
death in attestation of them, he has given the most 
impressive testimony that can be conceived."* 

The sufferings of the primitive Christians for their 
religion were exceedingly great, and are attested by 
heathen as well as Christian writers. It is a cir- 
cumstance of great importance in this argument, that 
they could at once have escaped all their torments by 
renouncing Christianity. To bring them to this was 
the sole object of their persecutors; and uniformly it 
was put to their choice, to offer sacrifice or incense 

* See Addison's Evidences. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 129 

to the heathen gods, or be tormented. One word 
would have been sufficient to deliver them; one easy 
action would have restored them to worldly com- 
forts and honours. But they steadfastly adhered to 
their profession. Some indeed were overcome by 
the cruelty of their persecutors; but was it ever heard 
that any of them confessed that there was any fraud 
or imposture among them? So far from it, they 
whose courage had failed them in the trying hour, 
were commonly deep penitents on account of their 
weakness, all the rest of their days. Let it be remem- 
bered, that no person suffered for Christianity through 
necessity. Every martyr made a voluntary sacrifice 
of himself, to maintain the truth and to preserve a 
good conscience. 

5. There is yet another light in which these suffer- 
ings of the primitive Christians ought to be viewed. 
It is the temper with which they endured every kind 
of torment. Here again is a problem for the deist to 
solve. Persons of all ages, of all conditions of life, 
and of both sexes, exhibited under protracted and 
cruel torments, a fortitude, a patience, a meekness, a 
spirit of charity and forgiveness, a cheerfulness, yea 
often a triumphant joy, of which there are no exam- 
ples to be found in the history of the world. They 
rejoiced when they were arrested; cheerfully bade 
adieu to their nearest and dearest relatives; gladly 
embraced the stake ; welcomed the wild beasts let 
loose to devour them; smiled on the horrible appa- 
ratus by which their sinews were to be stretched, 
and their bones dislocated and broken; uttered no 
complaints; gave no indication of pain when their 
bodies were enveloped in flames; and when con- 
demned to die, begged of their friends to interpose 
no obstacle to their felicity (for such they esteemed 
martyrdom,) not even by prayers for their deliver- 
ance.* What more than human fortitude was this? 
By what spirit were these despised and persecuted 
people sustained? What natural principles in the 
human constitution can satisfactorily account for such 

* Sec the Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp. 



130 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

superiority to pain and death? Could attachment to 
an impostor inspire them with such feelings? No; 
it was the promised presence of the risen Jesus which 
upheld them, and filled them with assurance and 
joy. It was the Paraclete, promised by their 
Lord, who poured into their hearts a peace and joy 
so complete, that they were scarcely sensible of the 
wounds inflicted on their bodies. Proud and obsti- 
nate men may perhaps suffer for what th^y are 
secretly convinced is not true; but that multitudes, 
of all conditions, should joyfully suffer for what they 
know to be an imposture, is imposssible. Tender 
women and venerable old men were among the most 
conspicuous of the martyrs of Jesus. " They loved 
not their lives unto the death," and have given their 
testimony and sealed it with their blood. They are 
now clothed in white robes, and bear palms in their 
hands, and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. 
Blessed martyrs! they have rested from their labours, 
and their works have followed them! 



CHAPTER IX, 



PROPHECIES RESPECTING THE JEWISH NATION WHICH HAVE BEEN RE- 
MARKABLY FULFILLED. 

The Bible contains predictions of events which no 
human sagacity could have foreseen, and these pre- 
dictions have been exactly and remarkably accom- 
plished. 

The subject of prophecy is so extensive, and the 
difficulty of presenting, with brevity, the argument 
which it furnishes so great, that if I had not deter- 
mined to give a general outline of the evidences of 
revelation, I should have omitted this topic as one to 
which justice cannot be done in so short an essay. 

But I would not be understood as intimating, that 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 131 

the evidence from prophecy is of an inferior kind. 
So far from believing this to be the fact, I am per- 
suaded that whoever will take the pains to examine 
the subject thoroughly, will find that this source of 
evidence for the truth of revelation is exceeded by 
no other in the firmness of conviction which it is cal- 
culated to produce. Prophecy possesses, as a proof 
of divine revelation, some advantages which are 
peculiar. For the proof of miracles we must have 
recourse to ancient testimony; but the fulfilling of 
prophecy may fall under our own observation, or 
may be conveyed to us by living witnesses. The 
evidence of miracles cannot, in any case, become 
stronger than it was at first ; but that of prophecy 
is continually increasing, and will go on increasing, 
until the whole scheme of predictions is fulfilled. 
The mere publication of a prediction furnishes no 
decisive evidence that it is a revelation from God; 
it is the accomplishment which completes the proof. 
As prophecies have been fulfilled in every age, and 
are still in a course of being fulfilled ; and as some 
most remarkable predictions remain to be accom- 
plished, it is plain, from the nature of the case, that 
this proof will continue to increase in strength. 

It deserves to be well weighed, that any one pre- 
diction which has been fulfilled, is of itself a com- 
plete evidence of divine revelation; or to speak more 
properly, is itself a revelation. For certainly no one 
but God himself can foretell distant future events, 
which depend entirely on the purpose of Him " who 
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." 

If, then, we can adduce one prophecy, the accom- 
plishment of which cannot be doubted, we have 
established the principle that a revelation has been 
given ; and if in one instance, and to one person, the 
probability is strong that he is not the only person 
who has been favoured with such a communication. 

The remark which is frequently made, that most 
prophecies are obscure, and the meaning very uncer- 
tain, will not affect the evidence arising from such as 
are perspicuous, and of which the accomplishment is 



132 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

exact. There are good reasons why these future 
events should sometimes be wrapped up in the cov- 
ering of strong figures and symbolical language ; so 
that often the prophet himself, probably, did not 
understand the meaning of the prediction which he 
uttered. It was not intended that they should be 
capable of being clearly interpreted, until the key 
was furnished by the completion. If these observa- 
tions are just, the study of the prophecies will become 
more and more interesting every day, and they will 
shed more and more light on the truth of the Scrip- 
tures. 

What I shall attempt, at present, and all that is 
compatible with the narrow limits of this discourse, 
will be, to exhibit a few remarkable predictions, and 
refer to the events in which they have been fulfilled. 
They who wish for further satisfaction, will find it 
in the perusal of Bishop Newton's excellent Disser-* 
tations on the Prophecies, to which I acknowledge 
myself indebted for a considerable part of what is 
contained in this chapter, and to Keith on the Pro- 
phecies. 

The first prophecies which I shall produce, are 
those of Moses respecting the Jews. They are re- 
corded, principally, in the twenty-sixth chapter of 
Leviticus and in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deu- 
teronomy; of which the following predictions deserve 
our attention. 

1. "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee 
from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the 
eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not 
understand." This prophecy had an accomplish- 
ment in the invasion of Judea by the Chaldeans and 
by the Romans, but more especially the latter. Jere- 
miah, when predicting the invasion of the Chaldeans, 
uses nearly the same language as Moses. " Lo, I 
will bring a nation upon you from afar, house of 
Israel, saith the Lord; it is an ancient nation, a nation 
whose language thou knowest not."* And again, 
" Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the 

* Jer. x. 15. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITV. 133 

heaven."* But with still greater propriety may it 
be said that the Romans were a nation " from afar;" 
the rapidity of whose conquests resembled the eagle's 
flight ; the standard of whose armies was an eagle ; 
and whose language was unknown to the Jews. 

The enemies of the Jews are always characterized 
as " a nation of fierce countenance, who shall not 
regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the 
young" — an exact description of the Chaldeans. It 
is said, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17, that God brought upon 
the Jews " the king of the Chaldees, who slew their 
young men with the sword in the house of their 
sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man 
or maiden, old man, nor him that stooped for age." 
Such also were the Romans. Josephus informs us, 
that when Vespasian came to Gadara, "he slew all, 
man by man, the Romans showing mercy to no age." 
The like was done at Gamala. 

2. It was predicted, also, that their cities should 
be besieged and taken. "And he shall besiege thee 
in all thy gates until thy high and fenced walls come 
down, wherein thou trustedst." This was fulfilled 
when Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, came against 
Samaria, and besieged it,t when Sennacherib came 
up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and when 
Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, burned the temple, 
and broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.f 
The Jews had great confidence in the strength of the 
fortifications of Jerusalem. And Tacitus, as well as 
Josephus, describes it as a very strong place; yet it 
was often besieged and taken before its final destruc- 
tion by Titus. 

In their sieges they were to suffer much by famine, 
" in the straitness wherewith their enemies should 
distress them." Accordingly, at Samaria, during 
the siege there was a great famine, " so that an ass's 
head was sold for four score pieces of silver."§ And 
when Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, 
" the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no 

* Lam. iv. 19. t 2 Kings xxv. 10. 

f 2 Kings xviii. 9, 10. § 2 Kings vi. G. 

12 



134 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

bread for the people of the land."* And in the siege 
of the same city by the Romans, there was a most 
distressing famine.! 

It was foretold that in these famines women should 
eat their own children. " Ye shall eat," says Moses, 
" the flesh of your sons and of your daughters." 
And again, "thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own 
body." X " The tender and the delicate woman 
among you, who would not venture to set the sole 
of her foot upon the ground, for delicateness and ten- 
derness — she shall eat her children for want of all 
things, secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith 
thine enemies shall distress thee in thy gates." This 
extraordinary prediction was fulfilled six hundred 
years after it was spoken, in the siege of Samaria, by 
the king of Syria; when two women agreed together 
to give up their children to be eaten; and one of 
them was eaten accordingly.§ It was fulfilled again 
nine hundred years after Moses, in the siege of Jeru- 
salem, by the Chaldeans. " The hands of the pitiful 
women," says Jeremiah, " have sodden their own 
children." || And again, fifteen hundred years after 
the time of Moses, when Jerusalem was besieged by 
the Romans, Josephus informs us of a noble woman 
killing and eating her own sucking child; and when 
she had eaten half, she secreted the other part for 
another meal. 

3. Great numbers of the Jews were to be destroy- 
ed. "And ye shall be left few in number, whereas 
ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude." In 
the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, it is computed that 
eleven hundred thousand persons perished by famine, 
pestilence, and sword. Perhaps, since the creation 
of the world, so many persons never perished in any 
one siege as this. The occasion of so great a multi- 
tude of people being found at Jerusalem, was, that 
the siege commenced about the celebration of the 
passover; and the people throughout the adjacent 

* 2 Kings xxv. 3. §2 Kings vi. 28, 29. 

t Josephus de Jud. Bcllo. 11 Lam. iv. 10. 

X Jer. xxvi. 29. Dcut. xxviii. 23. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 135 

country took refuge in Jerusalem, at the approach 
of the Roman army. 

Moses also predicted that the Jews should be car- 
ried back to Egypt, and sold as slaves for a very low 
price, and described the method of their conveyance 
thither: "and the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt 
again with ships, where you shall be sold unto your 
enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man 
shall buy you." Josephus informs us that when the 
city was taken, the captives who were above seven- 
teen years of age, were sent to the works in Egypt ; 
but so little care was taken of these captives, that 
eleven thousand of them perished for want. There 
is every probability, though the historian does not 
mention the fact, that they were conveyed to Egypt 
in ships, as the Romans had then a fleet in the Med- 
iterranean. The market was so overstocked that 
there were no purchasers, and they were sold for the 
merest trifle. 

4. It is moreover predicted, in this wonderful pro- 
phecy of Moses, that the Jews should be extirpated 
from their own land, and dispersed among all nations. 
"And ye shall be plucked from off the land whither 
thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter 
thee among all people, from one end of the earth 
even unto the other." How remarkably has this 
been fulfilled. The ten tribes were first carried away 
from their own land by the king of Assyria ; next, 
the two other tribes were carried captive to Babylon; 
and, finally, when the Romans took away " their 
place and nation," their dispersion was complete. 

5. The Emperor Adrian, by a public edict, forbade 
the Jews, on pain of death, to set foot in Jerusalem: 
or even to approach the country around it. In the 
time of Tertullian and Jerome, they were prohibited 
from entering Judea. And from that day to this, the 
number of Jews in the holy land has been very small. 
They are still exiles from their own land, and are 
found scattered through almost every country on the 
globe. 

It was foretold that, notwithstanding their disper- 



136 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

sion, they should not be totally destroyed, but should 
still exist a distinct people. " And yet for all that, 
when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not 
cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy 
them utterly, and to break my covenant with them." 
" What a marvellous thing is this," says Bishop 
Newton, " that after so many wars, battles, and 
sieges; after so many rebellions, massacres, and per- 
secutions; after so many years of captivity, slavery, 
and misery; they are not "destroyed utterly," and 
though scattered among all people, yet subsist a dis- 
tinct people by themselves! Where is any thing like 
this to be found in all the histories, and in all the 
nations under the sun?" 

The prophecy goes on to declare, that they should 
be every where in an uneasy condition; and should 
not rest long in any one place. " And among these 
nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole 
of thy foot have rest." How exactly has this been 
verified in the case of this unhappy people, even to 
this day! There is scarcely a country in Europe 
from which they have not been banished, at one time 
or another. To say nothing of many previous scenes 
of bloodshed and banishment, of the most shocking 
kind, through which great multitudes of this devoted 
people passed in Germany, France, and Spain, in the 
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; eight hundred 
thousand Jews, are said by the Spanish historian, to 
have been banished from Spain, by Ferdinand and 
Isabella. And how often, when tolerated by govern- 
ment they have suffered by the tumults of the peo- 
ple, it is impossible to enumerate. 

The prophet declares that "they should be oppress- 
ed and crushed alway; that their sons and their 
daughters should be given to another people; that 
they should be mad for the sight of their eyes, which 
they should see." Nothing has been more common 
in all countries where the Jews have resided, than 
to fine, fleece, and oppress them, at will ; and in 
Spain and Portugal their children have been taken 
from them by order of the government, to be educa- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 137 

ted in the Popish religion. The instances in which 
their oppressions have driven them to madness and 
desperation, are too numerous to be stated in detail, j 

6. Finally, it is foretold by Moses, "That they 
should become an astonishment, a proverb, and a 
by-word, among all nations; and that their plagues, 
should be wonderful," even great plagues, and of 
long continuance. In every country the Jews are 
hated and despised. They have been literally "a 
proverb and a by-word." Mohammedans, Heathens, 
and Christians, however they may differ in other 
things, have been agreed in vilifying, abusing, and 
persecuting the Jews. Surely the judgments visited 
on this peculiar people, have been wonderful and of 
long continuance. For nearly eighteen hundred years, 
they have been in this miserable state of banishment, 
dispersion, and persecution. 

The prophecy of Isaiah respecting the restoration 
of the Jews to their land after seventy years captivi- 
ty, is very remarkable. Cyrus is designated byname, 
not only as the conqueror of Babylon, but as the 
restorer of Israel and rebuilder of Jerusalem. "That 
saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform 
all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt 
be built; and to the temple thy foundations shall be 
laid."* We are informed by Josephus, that when 
Cyrus had got possession of Babylon, the predictions 
concerning himself were made known to him, and 
that he was struck with admiration at the manifest 
divinity of the writing. This will account for the 
kindness of this prince to the children of Israel, and 
the opportunity which he gave them to return to 
their own land, and the facilities which he granted 
for the restoration of the temple. Indeed, it is certain 
from what is said in Ezra, that, by some means, 
Cyrus knew that God had appointed him to rebuild 
the temple for there it is written, " That the Lord 
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he 
made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, 
and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus 

* Isa. xliv. 28. 
12* 



138 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath 
given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He hath 

CHARGED ME TO BUILD A HOUSE IN JERUSALEM WHICH 
IS IN JUDAH." 

He then gave liberty and encouragement to the 
people of God to engage in this pious enterprise, and 
to receive pecuniary aid from all who were disposed 
to co-operate in this good work. And, as the sacred 
vessels of the temple had been brought to Babylon, 
by Nebuchadnezzar, these Cyrus brought forth and 
delivered to the proper officer, to be brought up from 
Babylon to Jerusalem. 

" What nation/' says the distinguished writer al- 
ready quoted, " hath subsisted as a distinct people in 
their own country, so long as these have done in their 
dispersion, into all countries? And what a standing 
miracle is this exhibited to the view and observation 
of the whole world!" "Here are instances of pro- 
phecies delivered above three thousand years ago, 
and yet, as we see, fulfilling in the world, at this 
very time ; and what stronger proof can we desire of 
the divine legation of Moses? How these instances 
may affect others, I know not, but for myself I must 
acknowledge, they not only convince, but amaze and 
astonish me beyond expression." 



CHAPTER X. 



PROPHECIES RELATING TO NINEVEH, BABYLON, TYRE, &C. 

The walls of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, are 
said to have been a hundred feet in height, sixty 
miles in compass, and defended by fifteen hundred 
towers, each two hundred feet high. Diodorus Sicu- 
lus relates, that the king of Assyria after the complete 
discomfiture of his army, confided in an old prophecy 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 139 

that Nineveh would not be taken unless the river 
should become the enemy of the city ; that after an 
ineffectual siege of two years, the river, swollen with 
long continued and tempestuous torrents, inundated 
part of the city, and threw down the wall for the 
space of twenty furlongs; and that the king, deeming 
that the prediction was accomplished, despaired of 
his safety, and erected an immense funeral pile, on 
which he heaped his wealth, and with which him- 
self, his household, and palace were consumed.* 
The book of Nahum was avowedly prophetic of the 
destruction of Nineveh; and it is there foretold, "that 
the gates of the river shall be opened, and the palace 
shall be dissolved — Nineveh of old, like a pool of 
water — with an overflowing flood he will make an 
utter end of the place thereof." The other predic- 
tions of the prophet are as literally described by the 
historian. He relates, that the king of Assyria, ela- 
ted with his former victories, and ignorant of the 
revolt of the Bactrians, had abandoned himself to 
scandalous inaction; had appointed a time of fes- 
tivity; and supplied his soldiers with abundance of 
wine; and that the general of the enemy apprized 
by deserters, of their negligence and drunkenness 
attacked the Assyrian army while abandoned to revel- 
ling, destroyed a great part of them, and drove the 
rest into the city. The words of the prophet were 
hereby verified. " While they were folden together 
as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, 
they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry." Much 
spoil was promised to the enemy, "Take the spoil of 
silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is no end of 
the store and glory, out of all the pleasant furniture." 
Accordingly the historian affirms, that many talents 
of gold and silver preserved from the fire, were car- 
ried to Ecbatana. The prophet declares, that the 
city was not only to be destroyed by an overflowing 
flood, but the fire was also to devour it; which 
exactly agrees with the account of the historian 
The utter and perpetual destruction of the city was 

* Diod. Sic. Lib. ii. p. 32, 33. j 



140 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

distinctly predicted, " The Lord will make an utter 
end of the place thereof. Affliction shall not rise up 
the second time, she is empty, void and waste. The 
Lord will stretch out his hand against the north and 
destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, 
and dry like a wilderness. How is she become a 
desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in." In the 
second century, Lucian, who was born on the banks 
of the Euphrates, testified, that Nineveh was utterly 
perished — that there was no vestige of it remain- 
ing — and that none could tell where it was once 
situated. A late traveller who has visited that coun- 
try, testifies, " that neither bricks, stones, nor other 
materials of building," are now to be seen; but the 
ground is, in many places, grown over with grass, 
and such elevations are observable, as resemble the 
mounds left by the intrenchments and fortifications 
of ancient Roman camps; and the appearances of 
other mounds and ruins less marked than even these 
extending for ten miles and widely spread, and seem- 
ing to be the wreck of former buildings, show that 
Nineveh is left without any monument of royalty, 
without any token whatever of its splendour or 
wealth; that it is indeed a desolation, "empty, void, 
and waste;" its very ruins perished, and less than 
the wreck of what it was. " Such an utter ruin," says 
Bishop Newton, "has been made of it: and such is 
the truth of the divine predictions." 

BABYLON. 

The prophecies respecting the taking of Babylon, 
its utter destruction, and the complete desolation 
which should reign where this proud city once stood, 
have been remarkably fulfilled. Our limits will only 
admit of the selection of a few particulars out of 
many; but for more minute and extended informa- 
tion on this interesting subject, the reader is referred 
to the works of Bishop Newton, and the Rev. Alex- 
ander Keith, on Prophecy, where he will meet with 
full satisfaction, and to which we acknowledge our- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 141 

selves indebted for the substance of what is here 
introduced. 

The very nations by whom Babylon was to be 
taken and destroyed, are predicted by name by the 
prophet Jeremiah. " Go up, Elam, (this was the 
ancient name of Persia,) besiege, Media. The 
Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the 
Medes; for his device is against Babylon to destroy 
it."* 

And Isaiah says, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and 
all the graven images of her gods he hath broken 
unto the ground. "t Thus saith the Lord " that saith 
unto the deep, Be dry; and I will dry up thy rivers: 
that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall per- 
form all my pleasure. And I will loose the loins 
of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates — 
and the gates shall not be shut.^f " Thus saith the 
Lord to Cyrus his anointed, to subdue nations before 
him." This prediction of Isaiah, in which Cyrus is 
named, must have been uttered at least two hundred 
years before he was born, and when the Persians 
were an obscure and inconsiderable nation. 

A confederacy having been formed between the 
Medes and Persians, and Cyrus having in person 
taken the command of the Persians, and having dis- 
ciplined them with consummate skill, and inspired 
them with heroic courage, joined his uncle Cyaxares, 
(by Daniel called Darius the Mede,) and their united 
forces having conquered the Armenians, the Hyrca- 
nians, the Lydians, the Cappadocians, and other allies 
of the king of Babylon; and having so treated all 
these conquered nations as to conciliate their friend- 
ship, and add their forces to their own, they marched 
towards the city of Babylon. 

Although Cyrus commenced his military career 
with a small army of Persians, yet by conquest and 
wise policy, his army had become exceedingly nu- 
merous before he reached the famous city. But what 
could be done by courage or military skill against a 
city so defended on every side? This consummate 

* Jer. li. t Isa. xxi. 9. \ Isa. xliv. 27, 28. 



142 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

general, as soon as he had arrived on the ground 
with his army, made it his first business, in company 
with some of his chief officers, to ride entirely round 
the walls, and to ascertain whether there was any 
weak point where an assault might successfully be 
made. But he found every part fully secured, so 
that there seemed no possibility of taking the city 
but by a long siege. He therefore sat down before 
it, and dug a trench entirely around the walls, and 
towers were erected, and every other preparation 
made for a regular siege. Thus, in the prophecy, it 
is said, " They camped against it round about. They 
put themselves in array against Babylon around 
about. They set themselves in array against Baby- 
lon, every man put in array." 

Another important circumstance distinctly noticed 
in the prophecy, is, the cowardice of the Babylonians. 
Formerly, her armies were a terror to the whole 
earth, and nothing could withstand their fierce cour- 
age. But now, faint-hear tedness had come over 
them. " The mighty men of Babylon have forborne 
to fight. They have remained in their holds. Their 
might hath failed, they became as women."* Their 
timidity was manifest in their shutting themselves 
up ; and all the challenges of their enemies could not 
provoke them to come out and meet them in the open 
field. Xenophon relates, that Cyrus challenged the 
king of Babylon to decide the contest by single com- 
bat, which he declined. The people within the walls, 
though very numerous, made no sallies from their 
gates ; nor did they use any efforts to disperse or an- 
noy the besiegers. Literally, " they remained in their 
hold, and the hands of the king of Babylon waxed 
feeble." . 

Cyrus, as we have said, found every thing secure 
against assault; for what could battering rams, or 
other engines of war accomplish against walls which 
were thirty, or, as some assert, fifty feet in thickness ? 
He was, therefore, not a little perplexed until the 
thought occurred, that an entrance might possibly 

* Jeremiah li. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 143 

be obtained by turning out of its channel the river 
Euphrates, which flowed through the city. This 
hazardous enterprise as a last resort was determined 
on, and the work was commenced, but the design 
was carefully concealed from the besieged; for, as 
Herodotus observes, if they had had the least inti- 
mation of the device, or if they had discovered the 
Persians while passing through, they could not only 
have prevented its execution, but have destroyed the 
whole army of Cyrus while pent up within the chan- 
nel of the river. All that was necessary to prevent 
the Persians from entering was, to close the gates 
which gave entrance to the city through the embank- 
ment built upon both sides of the river. To guard 
against the danger of discovery, Cyrus selected for 
the execution of this important but dangerous enter- 
prise, the season of a great Babylonish festival, on 
which occasion he knew the whole population gave 
themselves up to revelling and drunkenness. The 
river was a full quarter of a mile wide, and twelve 
feet deep, but there was an artificial lake in the 
neighbourhood, prepared to receive the surplus wa- 
ters, when it overflowed'its banks, or when for any 
other reason it was desirable to diminish the waters 
of the river. The entrance of this canal was en- 
larged, and the great trench dug round the walls by 
the army of Cyrus, was so connected with the river 
above the town, that this also was capable of con- 
taining a large body of water. Moreover, the coun- 
try was exceedingly low and flat; so that the water, 
if it could once be diverted from its usual channel, 
would readily spread itself in all directions. The 
scheme succeeded to their most sanguine expecta- 
tion. The channel of the river was left nearly dry 
by the subsiding of the water, and the army of Cyrus 
entered by night. One detachment was placed where 
the river entered the city, and another where it left 
it; and the Persian army entered so silently, and 
the inhabitants were so completely drowned in their 
drunken revels, that no alarm was sounded, and no 
care had been taken to close the gates leading to the 



144 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

river, no danger being apprehended on that side. 
So completely were the Babylonians surprised, that 
Cyrus had reached the royal palace before a messen- 
ger arrived to tell the king that the city was taken. 
The noise of the invading army, at first, was not dis- 
tinguished from the mad tumult of the rioters. Even 
the guards stationed around the palace were found 
intoxicated, and slain; when the Persians rushed 
into the splendid hall, where Belshazzar and his 
thousand lords, and wives, and concubines, had been 
drinking out of the sacred vessels of the Lord's house, 
which had been impiously brought forth on this oc- 
casion. But their profane mirth had already been 
arrested before the arrival of the victorious Persians, 
by the appearance of a hand, writing certain words 
in a strange character on the wall. This had pro- 
duced the utmost consternation in all the assembly; 
although none could decipher the writing, until Daniel 
was brought in, who quickly denounced the fatal 
destiny of the monarch, and the overthrow of his 
kingdom; "And in that night was Belshazzar, the 
king of the Chaldeans, slain." 

How exactly the events, described above, were 
predicted, will be at once seen by the following quo- 
tations from the prophets. 

" I will dry up thy sea, and make thy springs dry 
— that saith to the deep, Be dry, I will dry up thy 



rivers." 



"And one post did run to meet another, and one 
messenger to meet another, to show the king of 
Babylon that his city is taken at the end, and that 
the passages are shut." 

" But a snare was laid for Babylon. It was taken, 
and it was not aware. How is the praise of the 
whole earth surprised ! For thou hast trusted in thy 
wickedness, and in thy wisdom, and thy knowledge 
it hath perverted thee; therefore shall evil come upon 
thee, and thou shalt not know whence it ariseth; and 
mischief shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not be 
able to put it off — none shall save thee." 

" In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 145 

make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep 
a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. I 
will make drunken her princes and her wise men, 
her captains and her rulers, and her mighty men, 
and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep." 

" The gates (L e. those from the river to the city) 
were not shut. The loins of kings were loosed to 
open before Cyrus the two-leaved gates."* 

The king hearing a noise and tumult without, sent 
some to see whence it arose : but no sooner were the 
gates of the palace opened, than the Persians rushed 
in. " The king of Babylon heard the report of them. 
Anguish took hold of him." He and all about him 
perished. God had " numbered his kingdom and 
finished it." It was " divided and given to the 
Medes and Persians." 

The multitude of soldiers who now entered the 
city, and the slaughter of the citizens in the streets, 
are exactly foretold. "I will fill thee with men as 
with caterpillars. Her young men shall fall in the 
streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in 
that day." 

The number of the Persian army, which was re- 
viewed immediately after the capture of the city, is 
said by Herodotus to have amounted to one hundred 
and twenty thousand horse, six thousand chariots of 
war, and six hundred thousand infantry. 

Cyrus issued a proclamation that the people should 
remain in their houses, with strict orders to slay every 
person who should be found in "the streets." 

Cyrus now became master of all the hidden trea- 
sures of Babylon. "The treasures of darkness and 
hidden riches of secret places being given into his 
hand;" that he might know "that the Lord, which 
had called him by his name, was the God of Israel." 

From the time of the first capture of this famous 
city by Cyrus, her glory began to fade. God had 
predicted her downfall, and his word never fails. 
After its first conquest it was, according to Herodo- 
tus, reduced from an imperial to a tributary city; 

* Jeremiah li, 
13 



146 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

which seems to be foretold by the prophet, when he 
says — " Come down and sit in the dust, virgin 
daughter of Babylon — sit on the ground, there is no 
throne, daughter of the Chaldeans." 

The next step towards the downfall of this famous 
city was after the rebellion against Darius. When 
he captured the city, he ordered the height of the 
walls to be reduced, and all the gates to be destroyed. 
To which the prophet alludes, in express terms: — 
" The wall of Babylon shall fall — her walls shall be 
thrown down." 

Xerxes, after his return from his unfortunate Gre- 
cian expedition, entered the city and rifled its most 
valuable and sacred treasures, laid up in the temple 
of Belus. This the prophet Jeremiah had foretold. 
" I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring out 
of his mouth that which he has swallowed up. I 
will do judgment on the graven images of Babylon." 

No efforts made by the conquerors of Babylon to 
restore her glory, or even to prevent her decay, were 
at all successful. Cyrus made Babylon his usual 
place of residence, but his successors preferred other 
cities: and when Alexander conquered Babylon, it 
was fully his purpose to restore Babylon to her pris- 
tine glory; but the counsel of Jehovah was adverse. 
The prophet had long before signified that all such 
attempts would prove ineffectual. " Take balm for 
her pain, if so be that she may be healed. We would 
have healed Babylon, but she is not healed." The 
proximate cause of the rapid decline of Babylon was 
twofold ; first, the turning of the river inundated the 
surrounding country and filled it with stagnant pools; 
secondly, the building of another city in the neigh- 
bourhood, drew off multitudes of inhabitants, who 
transferred their residence and wealth from the old 
to the new city. Babylon also was oppressed with 
some of the most cruel tyrants that ever ruled over 
any city. One of these, named Humerus, who lived 
about one hundred and thirty years before Christ, 
reduced many of the inhabitants to slavery on the 
slightest pretexts, burned the forum and some of the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 147 

temples, and banished many of the people into Me- 
dia. In foresight of such scenes, the prophet says, 
" They shall remove, they shall depart both man and 
beast." 

The cruelty of the conquerors of Babylon is strong- 
ly portrayed by the inspired pen. " They are cruel 
both in anger and fierce wrath, to lay the land deso- 
late." This has been in an eminent degree verified, 
in the Persians and Medes, the Macedonians, the 
Parthians, the Syrians, the Romans, and the Sara- 
cens; all of whom, in their turn, by their cruel anger 
and fierce wrath, assisted to render desolate this once 
" golden city," and these once beautiful and fertile 
regions. 

"A sword is upon the Chaldeans. A sound of 
battle is in the land and great destruction. I will 
kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall burn all round 
about him. And Chaldea shall be a spoil, all that 
spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord. A sword 
is upon her treasures, and they shall be robbed. 
thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in. 
treasures, thine end is come." 

The prophet's description of the utter desolation 
of Babylon could scarcely have been more vivid and 
exact if he had been present to view the scene. 
" I will punish the land of the Chaldeans, and will 
make it perpetual desolations; cut off the sower from 
Babylon and him that handleth the sickle in time of 
harvest. A drought is upon her waters, and they 
shall be dried up. Behold the hindermost of the 
nations, a dry land and a desert. Her cities are a 
desolation, a dry land and a wilderness; a land 
where no man dwelleth; neither doth the son of man 
pass by there. I will send unto Babylon fanners 
that will fan her, and empty her land. The land 
shall tremble and sorrow; for every purpose of the 
Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make 
the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabi- 
tant."* 

The decline of this famous city was gradual but 

* Jeremiah li. 



148 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

constant. In the second century of the Christian era 
nothing remained but the walls, and in the fourth 
century, these were repaired to serve as an enclo- 
sure or park for wild beasts, and Babylon became a 
hunting ground for the kings of Persia. Under the 
Saracens the desolation became complete, and for 
many ages past the following prediction has been 
literally fulfilled. " No man dwelleth there, and no 
son of man passeth by. Neither shall the Arabian 
pitch his tent there; neither shall the shepherds make 
their folds there/' The only remains of the former 
city are heaps of ruins and mounds of half decayed 
bricks; in exact conformity with the prediction of 
Jeremiah. " Babylon shall become heaps. Cast her 
up as heaps. Let nothing of her be left. Babylon is 
fallen — is cut down to the ground. Her foundations 
are fallen. It shall never be inhabited from genera- 
tion to generation." 

The following are statements made by recent tra 
vellers. "Our path," says Mignan, "lay through the 
great mass of ruined heaps on the site of ' shrunken 
Babylon/ And I am perfectly incapable of convey- 
ing an adequate idea of the dreary lonely nakedness, 
that appeared before us." Porter remarks, " that a 
silence profound as the grave, reigns throughout the 
ruins. Babylon is now a silent scene, a sublime 
solitude." According to Rauwolf, even as early as 
the sixteenth century, there was not within the 
limits of ancient Babylon a single human habitation. 
" The eye," says he, " wanders over a barren desert, 
in which the ruins are nearly the only indication, 
that it ever has been inhabited." "It is impossible," 
says Keppel, " to behold the scene, and not be re- 
minded how exactly the predictions of Isaiah and 
Jeremiah have been fulfilled." As the wild Arabs 
inhabit the wilderness, and often visit this region it 
may seem strange and improbable that they should 
never pitch their tents on the ruinous site of Baby- 
lon; but Mignan informs us that nothing will induce 
them to remain all night near the principal mound, 
as they have a superstitious belief that evil spirits 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 149 

dwell there. He informs us, that he was accompa- 
nied by six Arabs, well armed, and accustomed to 
the desert, but no inducement could have prevailed 
on them to remain on the ground after night. 

The place is also full of " doleful creatures" and 
of stagnant pools. Among the ruins, travellers inform 
us, there are many dens of wild beasts. " In most 
of the cavities," says Rich, " are numerous owls and 
bats." On the. very mound supposed to have been 
produced by the ruins of the temple of Belus, Porter 
saw three large lions. The hyena and the jackal 
have also their residence here. Who can fail to see, 
in these circumstances, the exact fulfilment of that 
prediction — "Wild beasts of the desert shall be there, 
and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures, 
and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance 
there." The western bank of the Euphrates has 
now disappeared, and the river having no barrier 
freely overflows the adjacent land, so that on this 
side a large part of the ruins of Babylon are inunda- 
ted; and for a great distance, even after the river has 
subsided, the whole country is one continued swamp, 
which is entirely inaccessible to the traveller. To 
this the prophet seems to have alluded, when he says, 
" The sea is come upon Babylon. She is covered 
with the multitude of the waves thereof." But that 
which at first view appears to be incompatible with 
this description is nevertheless true. Babylon is de- 
scribed by the prophets as " a dry land, a wilderness, 
and a desert." But the fact is, that while on one 
side of the river, the site is inundated, on the other, 
it is exceedingly dry, and a mere arid desert. 

As far as the light of history reaches, among all 
the structures ever reared by the hands of men, the 
temple of Belus seems to have been the most eleva- 
ted. This temple was probably built on the foun- 
dation of the tower of Babel, and according to the 
lowest computation, was higher than the greatest of 
the Egyptian pyramids. The highest mound now 
among the ruins is supposed, by discerning travellers, 
to be on the site of this famous temple. This ruhx 

13* 



150 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

covers more ground than the temple did when stand- 
ing. "It has," says Mignan, "the appearance of a 
hill surmounted with a castle." This hill is called 
by the Arabs Birs Nimrud. Of this vast ruin, Sir 
Robert Ker Porter has given a very particular and 
interesting account. " On the summit of the hill are 
immense fragments of brick-work, of no determinate 
figures, tumbled together, and converted into vitrified 
masses." Some of these huge fragments measure 
twelve feet in height by twenty-four in circumfer- 
ence; these fragments have been entirely preserved, 
while every thing else is crumbled to dust, because 
they have been exposed to the action of the fiercest 
fire; they are completely molten. 

The high gates of the temple of Belus, which were 
standing in the time of Herodotus, have been burnt 
with fire. "Belboweth down. Bel is confounded. 
The hand of the Lord has been stretched upon it — 
it has been rolled down from the rocks — and has 
been made a burnt mountain." The noble palaces 
of Babylon, the larger of which was surrounded by 
three walls of great extent, have entirely disappear- 
ed. Although the strength of the walls seemed to 
promise durability, and almost to bid defiance to time; 
yet now, of these palaces, the most splendid perhaps 
that the world ever saw, nothing but the mere vesti- 
ges of the walls which surround them, remain. The 
circumference of this ruin is about half a mile, and 
its height one hundred and forty feet; but it is a 
mass of confusion, the receptacle of wild beasts, and 
fall of doleful creatures. Wild beasts cry in the deso- 
late houses, " and dragons in the pleasant palaces." 
" Venomous reptiles," says Mignan, " are very nu- 
merous throughout the ruins." "On pacing over the 
loose stones," says the same writer, " and fragments 
of brick-work, which lay scattered through the im- 
mense fabric, and surveying the sublimity of the 
ruins, I naturally recurred to the time when these 
walls stood proudly in their original splendour; when 
the halls were the scenes of festive magnificence, and 
when they resounded to the voices of those whom 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 151 

death has long since swept from the earth. This 
very pile was once the seat of luxury and vice, now 
abandoned to decay, and exhibiting a melancholy 
instance of the retribution of heaven. It stands alone. 
The solitary habitation of the goat-herd marks not 
the forsaken site." " Thy pomp is brought down 
to the grave, and the noise of the viols; the worms 
are spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." 

In this wonderful city there was nothing more 
wonderful than the height and thickness of the walls. 
They were so broad that six chariots abreast could 
be drawn on them, and their original height is said 
to have been three hundred and fifty feet ; or at the 
lowest computation of the length of the cubit, three 
hundred feet. Darius, it is true, lowered these walls; 
but still they were elevated above the height of most 
walls. Where are they now? Not a vestige of them 
any where remains. Two travellers, Buckingham 
and Frederick, have both made diligent search to find 
some traces of the wall of Babylon. The latter says: 
" Neither of the wall or of the ditch has been seen 
the least vestige by any modern traveller. Within 
twenty-one miles distance along the Euphrates, and 
twelve miles across it in breadth, I was unable to 
perceive any thing that could admit of my imagining, 
that either a wall or ditch had existed within this 
extensive area." 

Keppel relates, that he and the party who accom- 
panied him, " in common with other travellers, had 
totally failed in discovering any trace of the city 
walls." And he adds : " The divine predictions 
against Babylon have been so totally fulfilled in the 
appearance of the ruins, that I am disposed to give 
the fullest signification to the words of Jeremiah: 
The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly 

BROKEN." 

It was predicted that "Babylon should be an aston- 
ishment. Every one that goeth by Babylon shall 
be astonished." How exactly this accords with the 
feelings of modern travellers, may be learned from 
their own language. Porter says, " I could not but 



152 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

feel an indescribable awe, in thus passing, as it were, 
into the gates of fallen Babylon." " I cannot por- 
tray," says Mignan, "the overpowering sensation of 
reverential awe that possessed my mind, while con- 
templating the extent and magnitude of ruin and 
devastation on every side." In another place Porter 
adds the following interesting remarks, expressive of 
his feelings while surveying the scene. " The whole 
view was particularly solemn. The majestic stream 
of the Euphrates, wandering in solitude, like a pilgrim 
monarch, through the silent ruins of his devastated 
kingdom, still appeared a noble river, under all the 
disadvantages of its desert-tracked course. Its banks 
were hoary with reeds: and the gray osier willows 
were yet there, on which the captives of Israel hung 
up their harps; and, while Jerusalem was not, re- 
fused to be comforted. But how is the rest of the 
scene changed since then! At that time those broken 
hills were palaces — those long undulating mounds, 
streets. This vast solitude, filled with the busy sub- 
jects of the proud daughter of the east. Now wasted 
with misery, her habitations are not to be found, and 
for herself, 'the worm is spread over her/ " 

The Rev. Alexander Keith, concludes with these 
pertinent remarks: "Has not every purpose of the 
Lord been performed against Babylon ? What mor- 
tal shall give a negative answer to the questions sub- 
joined by the author of these very prophecies? Who 
hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath 
told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And 
there is no God beside me — declaring the end from 
the beginning, and from ancient time the things that 
are not yet done. Saying, my counsel shall stand, 
and I will do all my pleasure." Is it possible there 
can be any attestation of the truth of prophecy, if 
not witnessed here? "The records of the human 
race, it has been said with truth, do not present a 
contrast more striking than that between the pri- 
meval magnificence of Babylon, and its long desola- 
tion. How few spots are there on earth of which 
we have so clear and faithful a picture as prophecy 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 153 

gave of fallen Babylon, when no spot on earth re- 
sembled it less than its present desolate, solitary site. 
Or could any prophecies respecting any single place, 
be more precise, or wonderful, or numerous, or true; 
or more gradually accomplished through many gene- 
rations?" 

TYRE. 

Tyre is another famous ancient city, which was 
the object of some very particular and remarkable 
prophecies, which have been most exactly fulfilled. 
Isaiah uttered his prediction concerning Tyre when 
she was in her glory, and flourishing in all the pride 
and luxury, which were sustained by the richest 
commerce in the world, at least a century before any 
danger threatened the place. The reason which the 
prophet assigns for God's judgments was the pride 
of this wealthy city. "The Lord of hosts hath pur- 
posed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring 
into contempt all the honourable of the earth." (Isa- 
iah xxiii. 9.) Ezekiel employs three whole chapters 
in describing the luxury, wealth, commerce and de- 
struction of Tyre.* 

The following particulars are clearly included in 
the divine predictions concerning Tyre. 

1. That this luxurious and populous city should be 
taken by the Chaldeans; who, at the time of the pro- 
phecy, were an inconsiderable people. Ezekiel not 
only predicts that the ruin of this city should be by 
the Chaldeans, but names the prince by whom it 
should be taken : " Thus saith the Lord God, I will 
bring upon Tyrus, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baby- 
lon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and 
with chariots, and with horsemen. He shall slay thy 
people with the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall 
go down to the ground."t Josephus informs us, that 
Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for thirteen years, 
while Ithobal reigned there, and for his authority 
quotes Menander the Ephesian. The Phenician an- 

* Ezek. xxvi. xxvii. xxviii. t Ezek. xxvi. 7 — 11. 



154 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

nals, as Dr. Prideaux has shown, agree exactly with 
this account. 

2. It was predicted that the inhabitants should 
pass over the Mediterranean sea, to the islands and 
countries adjacent. Isaiah says, "Pass ye over to 
Tarshish, howl ye inhabitants of the isle.* Arise, 
pass over to Chittim, there also shalt thou have no 
rest." Ezekiel foretells the same thing. " The isles 
that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy depar- 
ture." Bishop Newton has shown from ancient 
authors, that the Tyrians planted colonies in many 
places over sea, and among them were the cities of 
Carthage in Africa, and Tartessus in Spain, which 
last is the Tarshish of the prophets. 

3. It was predicted, that after seventy years Tyre 
should be restored. Isaiah is express in the mention 
of this period. " And it shall come to pass in that 
day, that Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years, 
according to the days of one king;"t in which refer- 
ence is made to the duration of the Chaldean dynas- 
ty, which was to continue only seventy years. Jere- 
miah intimates this to be the length of the Babylo- 
nish power. " These nations shall serve the king of 
Babylon seventy years."! 

4. It was foretold that Tyrus, after being restored, 
should be destroyed again. When Nebuchadnezzar 
took the city, the people took their effects and went 
into their ships, and escaped, with much of their 
wealth; so that God promised Egypt as a recom- 
pense for his hard service and poor reward in besieg- 
ing Tyre. When the inhabitants returned, they did 
not build on the old site, but went to an island sepa- 
rated from the main land by a strait of the sea. Here 
the new city arose and flourished in commerce and 
wealth. The prophets not only foretold the over- 
throw of old Tyre, but of this new city, built, as it 
were, " in the midst of the sea." Isaiah says, " Howl 
ye inhabitants of the isle." Ezekiel, " What city is 
like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the 

* Isa. xxiii. 6. X Jer. xxv. 11, 12. 

t Isa. xxiii. 15 — 17. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 155 

sea.* Zechariah, who had lived long after the first 
destruction, and must refer to the second, says, "And 
Tyrus did build himself a strong hold, and heaped up 
silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the 
streets. Behold the Lord will cast her out, and he 
will smite her power in the sea, and she shall be 
devoured with fire."t This new city was truly a 
strong hold, for not only was the sea a defence, but 
her walls were one hundred and fifty feet in height. 
Ezekiel also plainly predicts, that the second destruc- 
tion of Tyre should be by fire. " I will bring forth 
a fire from the midst of thee, and it shall devour thee, 
and I will bring thee to ashes on the earth in the 
sight of all them that behold thee/' Accordingly, 
Alexander the Great besieged and took the city, and 
set it on fire. This is expressly asserted by Quintus 
Curtius.J 

For a while, the insular situation of Tyre and her 
command of the sea, hindered the approach of Alex- 
ander's army to the walls ; but he took the stones and 
rubbish of the old city, and made a causeway across 
the arm of the sea which lay between the island and 
the continent; thus fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel, 
" They shall lay thy stones, and thy timber, and thy 
dust in the midst of the water."§ This was a work 
of immense labour, and occupied his army for seven 
months. On this occasion also, the Tyrians betook 
themselves to their ships, and fled across the sea. 
Both Diodorus Siculus, and Quintus Curtius, testify, 
that during the siege, they sent away their wives and 
children to Carthage ; and when the city was taken, 
the Sidonians contrived to carry off fifteen thousand 
persons in their ships. And they were happy who 
thus escaped, for the conqueror exercised unbounded 
cruelties upon such as remained. Eight thousand 
were slain in taking the city, two thousand were 
crucified, and thirty thousand sold for slaves. 

Although Tyre was again rebuilt, and for a con- 
siderable time flourished; yet the unchangeable de- 

* Ezek. xxvii. 32, X L. 4. c. 3. 

t Zech. viii. 1. § Ezek. xxvi. 12. 



156 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

cree of the Almighty had been published and record- 
ed by the prophets, that this once proud city, the 
mistress of the sea, should become a perfect desola- 
tion. Ezekiel, who has given so vivid and so par- 
ticular a description of the wealth and commerce of 
Tyrus, and of the pride of her kings and merchants, 
also furnishes the most exact prediction of her ruin 
and utter desolation. 

" Thus saith the Lord God, behold I am against 
thee, Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come 
up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come 
up, and they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus and 
break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust 
from her, and make her as the top of a rock. It 
shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst 
of the sea, for I have spoken it saith the Lord." And 
to show the absolute certainty of this total desolation 
of Tyre, he repeats what was last mentioned in the 
fourteenth verse. " I will make thee like the top of 
a rock, thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; 
thou shalt be built no more; for I have spoken it, 
saith the Lord God. And again, 1 will make thee a 
terror, and thou shalt be no more, though thou be 
sought for, thou shalt never be found again, saith the 
Lord God." 

Now, to show how exactly this is fulfilled, let us 
hear what account modern travellers give of this 
famous city. 

Cotovicus, a Dutch traveller, who visited Syria in 
1598, writes, "that this city so often restored after 
being overthrown, now at length appears to be 
utterly ruined; so that it has ceased to be any longer 
a city, and only some inconsiderable vestiges of her 
former ruins are now visible. If you except a few 
arches and baths, and some ruined walls, and col- 
lapsed towers, and mere rubbish, there is now no- 
thing of Tyre to be discerned." And then he refers 
to the prophecy of Ezekiel. 

Dr. Shaw visited Tyre, but could find nothing 
like a port or secure harbour any where in the neigh- 
bourhood. But Maundrell's account is the most 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 15^ 

exact and striking. " This city, standing in the sea, 
on a peninsula, at a distance, promises something 
very magnificent ; but when you come nearer, you 
find no similitude of that glory for which it was so 
renowned in ancient times, and which the prophet 
Ezekiel describes in the 26th, 27th, and 28th chap- 
ters of his prophecy. On the north side, it has an 
old ungarrisoned Turkish castle, besides which you 
see nothing but a mere Babel of broken walls, pil- 
lars, vaults, &c, there being not so much as one en- 
tire house left; its present inhabitants only a few 
poor wretches, harbouring themselves in the vaults, 
and subsisting chiefly on fishing, who seem to be 
preserved in this place, by divine Providence, as a 
visible argument how God has fulfilled his word con- 
cerning Tyre, that it should be 'as the top of a rock, 
a place for fishers to dry their nets on/ " 

And even Volney seems to be constrained to add 
his testimony to confirm the fulfilment of the divine 
prediction, respecting Tyre. After contrasting its 
former glory with its present desolation, he says, 
" The whole village of Tyre contains only fifty or 
sixty poor families, who live obscurely on the pro- 
duce of their little ground and a trifling fishery" 
And Bruce describes Tyre, in the very language of 
the prophet, as " a rock whereon fishers dry their 
nets." Several of our missionaries have visited the 
site of this once populous, refined, and wealthy city, 
and add their testimony to that of other travellers, 
of its present desolate condition. 

Thus we see how remarkably prophecies, com- 
mitted to writing above two thousand years ago, are 
at this day literally fulfilled, in the utter desolation 
of some of the richest and strongest cities which ever 
existed in the world. 

The prophecies recorded in the book of Daniel 
are very wonderful. There we have described the 
rise and fall of four successive monarchies or em- 
pires, and a prophecy concerning the conquests of 
Alexander the Great, and concerning his successors, 
embracing so many particulars that it assumes the 

14 



158 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

appearance of a history of the events which it pre- 
dicts. Porphyry, an early and learned opposer of 
Christianity, was so struck with the coincidence be- 
tween the predictions, and the history of the events 
by which they are fulfilled, that he declared that the 
prophecy must have been written after the events 
occurred. The infidel can make no complaint of 
obscurity here, as he commonly does when prophe- 
cies are adduced ; the objection now is, that the pre- 
diction is too explicit and circumstantial. This ob- 
jection of Porphyry induced Jerome to use the fol- 
lowing pertinent language: Ciijus impugnatio tes- 
timonium veritatis est. Tanta enim dictorum 
Jides fuit, ut prophet a incredulis hominibus non 
videatur futura dixisse, sed narrasse prseterita. 
The meaning of which is, " This objection is a testi- 
mony of the truth ; for such is the perspicuity of the 
language, that the prophet in the opinion of infidel 
men, seems rather to be narrating past events, than 
predicting those which are future." 

It will be sufficient to observe, that there is not the 
least foundation for this opinion of Porphyry, that 
the book of Daniel was written after the time of An- 
tiochus Epiphanes. Josephus relates that the pro- 
phecies of Daniel were shown to Alexander the 
Great, when he visited Jerusalem ; and that this was 
the reason of his granting so many privileges to the 
Jewish people. However this may be, Daniel is 
spoken of, in the first book of Maccabees; and Jose- 
phus himself reckons him among the greatest of pro- 
phets. If this book had been written at that late 
period, it never could have found a place in the Jew- 
ish canon, as the prophecies of Daniel. These pro- 
phecies are also recognized and quoted by Jesus 
Christ as the productions of Daniel. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 159 



CHAPTER XI. 



PROPHECIES RESPECTING MESSIAH PREDICTIONS OF CHRIST RESPECTING 

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

The prophecies which relate to the Messiah are so 
numerous and interesting, and involve so much criti- 
cal discussion, that to exhibit them in their proper 
light, a volume would scarcely be sufficient. I must, 
therefore, be contented to refer to the most remark- 
able of these predictions, in a very brief and general 
way. 

1. It is plain, from a cursory perusal of the Old 
Testament, that frequent intimations are given of the 
coming of a remarkable personage. From these, the 
Jewish nation have been led, in all ages, to entertain 
the expectation of a Messiah; and from them, the 
idea of a distinguished person who was to proceed 
from Judea, seems to have pervaded the surrounding 
nations. Some of the passages of Scripture, on which 
this opinion was founded, were, the promise of " the 
seed of the woman;" " the seed of Abraham in whom 
all nations should be blessed;" "the Shiloh who was 
to come out of Judah, before the dominion of that 
tribe should depart;" "the prophet like unto Moses, 
whom the Lord would raise up;" "the king whom 
the Lord would set upon his holy hill;" "the priest 
after the order of Melchisedek;" "the anointed one, 
or Messiah;" "the righteous branch;" ""the corner 
stone;" "the desire of all nations;" "the Shepherd 
of Israel." 

2. The time of the arrival of the Messiah is desig- 
nated in prophecy. He was to come before the scep- 
tre departed from Judah; at the end of seventy pro- 
phetic weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, from 
the time of the going forth of the command to restore 
and build Jerusalem, and while the second temple 
was yet standing. 



160 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

3. The place of his birth, and the family from 
which he was to descend, were also explicitly men- 
tioned in prophecy. From the evangelical history, 
and from the acknowledgment of the Jews, it is 
evident, that they well know that the Messiah was 
to be born at Bethlehem, and to be of the family of 
David. 

4. Things of an apparently contradictory nature 
are predicted concerning the Messiah. At one time 
he is represented as a king and conqueror, whose 
dominion would be co-extensive with the earth, and 
who would flourish in righteousness and peace for 
ever; at another he is exhibited as one "despised 
and rejected, a man of sorrow and grief, as wounded 
and bruised, as cut off out of the land of the living, 
and as pouring out his soul unto death. " These 
apparently irreconcilable characters led the Jews at 
one time to entertain the opinion that two Messiahs 
were predicted; the one a triumphant conqueror, the 
other a persecuted and patient sufferer. But, how- 
ever great the apparent inconsistency, there is an 
exact accomplishment of both characters in Jesus of 
Nazareth. And certainly, the same cannot be said 
of any other person who ever lived. 

5. It is predicted of the Messiah, that he should be 
a light to the gentiles; and that under his ad- 
ministration, the face of the world should be changed, 
and that peace and righteousness should prevail. 
Although this prophecy is only in part fulfilled, yet 
so much has been accomplished in the call of numer- 
ous Gentile nations to the standard of the Messiah, 
and in the benign and salutary influence of Chris- 
tianity, that we must conclude that it was uttered 
under the influence of inspiration. 

6. It was not only predicted that Messiah should 
be cut off, but it is expressly stated that he should 
die as a vicarious sacrifice, an expiatory victim for 
sin and transgression. " Thou shalt make his soul 
an offering for sin.*? 

For the fulfilling of these predictions, I need only 
refer to the recorded testimony of the evangelists. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 161 

That there is a remarkable coincidence between the 
language of the prophets and the history of the evan- 
gelists, cannot be denied, however it maybe account- 
ed for. The fifty -third chapter of Isaiah has a counter- 
part in the sufferings and death of Christ, which has 
forced conviction on the minds of many unbelievers. 

But there are also many particular facts and cir- 
cumstances foretold respecting the Messiah, which it 
may be proper briefly to mention. His forerunner, 
John the Baptist, is predicted by Isaiah and Malachi. 
His miracles, his uncomplaining meekness and tran- 
quil submission under cruel sufferings, by Isaiah. His 
riding on an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass; his 
being pierced where the wound should be visible; 
his being sold for thirty pieces of silver which should 
be appropriated to buy the Potter's Field, by Zecha- 
riah. It is predicted in the Psalms, that they would 
" part his raiment and cast lots for his vesture ;" and 
that vinegar would be given him to drink. The very 
words too which he uttered on the cross, when for- 
saken of God, are set down in the twenty-second 
Psalm. 

It was also predicted in the Law of Moses, by an 
expressive type, "that not a bone of him should be 
broken ;" the fulfilment of which was wonderful, 
since the legs of both those crucified with him were 
broken. Isaiah foretold that he should make his 
" grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his 
death," which was literally accomplished when Jesus 
Christ was suspended on the cross between two 
thieves, and when he was taken down from the cross 
by a rich man and buried by him in his own new 
tomb. 

The most of these particulars were fulfilled by the 
free actions of the enemies of Jesus, who had no idea 
that they were fulfilling any divine prophecy. It is 
impossible, that so many circumstances, literally pre- 
dicted, should have been fulfilled by a mere fortui- 
tous concurrence. 

The whole ritual law is in fact a prophecy of 
Jesus. To him the Old Testament dispensation had 

14* 



162 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

reference. The Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets 
all testify of him. As said the angel to St. John, 
The testimony of jesus is the spirit of pro- 
phecy. 

Christ himself delivered, while upon earth, many- 
clear and remarkable prophecies. Most of his para- 
bles have a prophetic character and in a striking 
manner represent the progress of the gospel, the 
rejection of the Jews, the calling of the Gentiles, and 
the future condition of the Church. He also foretold, 
in express words, the treatment which his followers 
should receive from the world, the treachery of Judas 
Iscariot, the conduct of Peter in denying him three 
times in one night, the particular circumstances and 
exact manner of his own death, and his resurrection 
on the third day. But I must pass over all these at 
present, and confine my attention to that astonishing 
prophecy, which Jesus delivered to his disciples on 
Mount Olivet, concerning the utter destruction of the 
temple of Jerusalem, and of the whole Jewish na- 
tion. This prediction was uttered about forty years 
before the events occurred, and was recorded by Mat- 
thew, according to the common opinion of early 
writers, thirty, or at least twenty years before it was 
fulfilled. The same was recorded by Mark and 
Luke, a few years after the writing of Matthew's 
gospel, but several years before the occurrence of 
these prodigious things which are foretold in it. 
The testimony of antiquity is, that both these evan- 
gelists were dead before the invasion of Judea by the 
Romans. John was the only one of the evangelists, 
or perhaps of the apostles, who lived to witness the 
fulfilling of the Lord's prophecy; and it is remarka- 
ble, that in his gospel this subject is never mentioned. 

Let it be remembered, that when this prophecy 
was delivered by our Saviour, there was not the 
least human probability of such an event, as the de- 
struction of Jerusalem. The Jews were in a state of 
profound peace, and the power of the Romans was 
such that it could not have been conjectured, that one 
small nation would think of rebelling against them. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 165 

The words of this prophecy may be read in the 
twenty-fourth chapter of the gospel of Matthew; also 
in the thirteenth chapter of the gospel of Mark; and 
in the seventeenth and twenty-first chapters of the 
gospel of Luke. 

I will first collect into one view all the most re- 
markable particulars of this prophecy, and then show 
how they were fulfilled. The predictions relate, 1. 
To the signs and precursors of the desolation of the 
holy city; 2. To the circumstances of its siege and 
capture ; 3. To the consequences of this tremendous 
catastrophe. 

1 . The signs and precursors of this event were to 
be false Christs; seditions and wars; famines, pes- 
tilences, earthquakes, and extraordinary appearances 
in the heavens; the persecution of Christians; the 
apostasy of professors, and the great want of charity, 
and depravation of morals among the people. 

2. The circumstances of this tremendous judgment 
of Heaven, are such as these: that the event should 
occur before the existing generation had completely 
passed away; that it should be brought on by a 
war waged against the Jews, by a heathen nation, 
bearing idolatrous ensigns; that Jerusalem should be 
utterly destroyed, and the temple so completely demol- 
ished, that one stone of that sacred edifice should not 
be left on another ; that multitudes should perish by 
the sword; that great numbers should be carried 
away captives; that the distress should exceed any 
thing which had ever occurred in the world; and 
that the divine wrath should be manifest in all these 
calamities, as it is called the day of vengeance, and it 
is said that there should be wrath against the people. 

3. The consequences of the destruction of the 
temple of Jerusalem, as predicted by Christ, were to 
be the dispersion of the Jews through all the nations; 
the total overthrow of the Jewish commonwealth, 
which is expressed by the prophetic symbols of 
" the sun being darkened, the moon not giving her 
light, and the stars falling from heaven;" the rejec- 
tion of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles; the 



164 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

rising of false prophets and false Messiahs; the ex- 
tent and continuance of these judgments on the Jew- 
ish nation ; with some intimation of their restoration. 
The escape of the Christians from these calamities is 
also foretold, and directions given for their flight; 
and on their account it is promised, that those days 
should be shortened ; and finally, it is predicted that 
the gospel should be preached among all nations. 

Let us now proceed to inquire, in what manner 
these numerous and extraordinary predictions were 
accomplished; and we cannot but remark, that it 
seems to have been ordered specially by Providence, 
that the history of the series of events by which this 
prophecy was fulfilled, should be written by a man 
who was not a Christian: and who was an eye-wit- 
ness of the facts which he records. I allude to the 
Jewish historian, Josephus, who is an author of high 
respectability, and whose testimony is of great value 
in the cause of Christianity. 

1. In regard to false Christs, of which the prophe- 
cy speaks so emphatically, we learn from the histo- 
rian just mentioned, that impostors and magicians 
drew multitudes after them into the wilderness, prom- 
ising to show them signs and wonders, some of whom 
became insane, and others were punished by Felix, 
the procurator. One of these impostors was that 
Egyptian spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles, who 
drew multitudes of people after him to Mount Olivet, 
promising that he would cause the walls of Jerusa- 
lem to fall down at his word. 

Theudas was another who pretended to be a pro- 
phet, and gave out that he would divide the waters 
of Jordan ; but he was quickly routed by Cuspius 
Fadus, and all his followers scattered. The impostor 
himself was taken alive, and his head cut off and 
brought to Jerusalem. In the reign of Nero, and 
during the time that Felix was procurator of Judea, 
impostors arose in such numbers, that the historian 
informs us, "many of them were apprehended and 
killed every day." 

There were also, at this time, great commotions 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 165 

and horrible seditions and wars, in various places; 
as at Cesarea, Alexandria, and Babylon. There 
were great contentions between the Jews and Sama- 
ritans; and also between the Jews and people of 
other nations who dwelt in the same cities with 
them. Both Josephus and Philo give a particular 
account of these disturbances, in which multitudes 
of the people were slain. : 

Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, are men- 
tioned by Suetonius, and by several other profane 
historians, who are cited by Eusebius, by Josephus, 
by Tacitus, and by Seneca. 

That prodigies were frequent, is expressly asserted 
by Josephus and Tacitus. The former declares that 
a star hung over the city like a sword, for a whole 
year ; that at the ninth hour of the night, a bright 
light shone round the altar and the temple, so that 
for the space of half an hour it appeared to be bright 
day ; that the eastern gate of the temple, which it 
required twenty men to shut, and which was fasten- 
ed by strong bars and bolts, opened of its own ac- 
cord; that before sunset, there was seen in the 
clouds, the appearance of chariots and armies fight- 
ing ; that at the feast of Pentecost, while the priests 
were going into the inner temple, a voice was heard, 
as of a multitude, saying, " Let us depart hence." 
And what affected the people more than any thing 
else was, that four years after the war began, a 
countryman came to Jerusalem, at the feast of Ta- 
bernacles, and ran up and down crying, day and 
night, "A voice from the east, and a voice from the 
west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against 
Jerusalem and the temple. Wo ! wo to Jerusalem!" 
It was in vain that by stripes and torture the ma- 
gistrates attempted to restrain him; he continued 
crying, especially at the public festivals, for seven 
years and five months, and yet never grew hoarse 
nor appeared to be weary, until during the siege, 
while he was crying on the wall, a stone struck 
him and killed him instantly. Tacitus, the Roman 
historian, joins his testimony to that of Josephus. 



166 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

"Armies/' says he, "were seen engaged in the hea- 
vens, the glittering of arms was observed; and sud- 
denly the fire from the clouds illuminated the tem- 
ple; the doors of the inner temple were suddenly 
thrown open and a voice more than human was 
heard proclaiming, 'The gods are departing/ and at 
the same time, the motion of their departure was 
perceived." Men may form what judgment they 
please of these narratives; but one thing is certain, 
that the minds of men were, about this time, much 
agitated and terrified with what appeared to them 
to be prodigies. There were "fearful sights and 
great signs from heaven." 

2. The circumstances attending the siege and cap- 
ture of the city, were as exactly foretold as the pre- 
ceding signs. " The abomination of desolation," 
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, was nothing else 
than the Roman armies, whose ensign was an eagle 
perched upon a spear, which ensigns were worship- 
ped as divinities. These stood where they ought 
not, when they were planted not only in the holy 
land, but on the consecrated spot where the temple 
had stood. But the Christians had been warned, at 
the first appearance of this desolating abomination, 
immediately to betake themselves to flight, which 
they did, and, instead of going into the city, retired 
to Pella beyond Jordan. 

The distress of the Jews within the city, during the 
siege, where two or three millions of people were 
crowded into a narrow space, almost exceeds belief. 
What with their continual battles with the Romans ; 
what with intestine feuds and tumults; what with 
famine and pestilence, the sufferings which they 
endured cannot now be conceived. No such distress 
Was ever experienced by any people before or since. 

Jerusalem was hemmed in on all sides by the be- 
sieging army, and notwithstanding the great strength 
of its fortifications, was taken. Although Titus had 
given express orders that the temple should be pre- 
served, the mouth of the Lord had declared that it 
should be otherwise; and accordingly it was burnt 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, 167 

to the ground, and the very foundation dug up by 
the soldiers with the hope of finding hidden treasures. 
After the city had been destroyed, Titus ordered the 
whole space to be levelled like a field; so that a per- 
son approaching the place would hardly suspect that 
it had ever been inhabited. 

The number slain in the war has already been 
mentioned, to which we may now add that the cap- 
tives amounted to ninety-seven thousand. Joseph us, 
in relating these events, adopts a language remark- 
ably similar to that used by Christ in the prophecy. 
" The calamities of all people," says he, " from the 
creation of the world, if they be compared with those 
suffered by the Jews, will be found to be far sur- 
passed by them." The words of Christ are : " There 
shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the 
beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever 
shall be." 

That these unparalleled calamities proceeded from 
the vengeance of heaven against a people whose 
iniquities were full, was not only acknowledged by 
Josephus, but by Titus. After taking a survey of 
the city, the height of its towers and walls, the mag- 
nitude of the stones, and the strength of the bands 
by which they were held together, he broke out into 
the following exclamation: " By the help of God, we 
have brought this war to a conclusion. It was God 
who drew out the Jews from these fortifications; for 
what could the hands or military engines of men 
avail against such towers as these?" And he refused 
to be crowned after the victory, saying that he was 
not the author of this achievement, but the anger 
of God against the Jews, was what put the victory 
into his hands. 

3. Finally, the consequences of this catastrophe 
were as distinctly predicted, and as accurately ful- 
filled, as the preceding events. The Jews who sur- 
vived were dispersed over the world, in which con- 
dition they continue till this day. The Christians, 
availing themselves of the warnings of their Lord, 
escaped all the calamities of the siege. Jerusalem 



168 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

was trodden down of the Gentiles, and continues to 
be trodden down until this day. 

Jerusalem was rebuilt by Adrian, but not precisely 
on the old site, and was called iElia, which name it 
bore until the time of Constantine. The apostate 
Julian, out of hatred to Christianity, and with the 
view of defeating the prediction, " Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles," determined to restore 
the Jews, and rebuild their temple. Immense sums 
were appropriated for the work, the superintendence 
of which was assigned to one of his lieutenants; and 
the governor of the province to which Jerusalem 
belonged, assisted in it. But horrible balls of fire, 
bursting forth from the foundations, rendered the 
place inaccessible to the workmen, who were often 
much burnt, so that the enterprise was laid aside. 
The account now given is attested by Julian himself, 
and his favourite heathen historian Ammianus. The 
witnesses are indeed numerous and unexceptionable : 
"Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen; Zemach David, 
a Jew, who confesses that Julian was divinitus 
impeditus, providentially hindered in his attempt; 
Nazianzen and Chrysostom among the Greeks; Am- 
brose and Rufin among the Latins; all of whom 
flourished at the very time when this wonderful 
event occurred. Theodoret, Socrates, Sozomen, and 
Philostorgius, respectable historians, recorded it with- 
in fifty years after the event, and while the eye-wit- 
nesses of the fact were still surviving."* That part 
of the prophecy which relates to the restoration of 
the Jews, remains to be accomplished, and we hope 
the accomplishment is not far distant. When this 
event shall take place, the evidence from this pro- 
phecy will be complete and almost irresistible. This 
shall occur when " the times of the Gentiles shall be 
fulfilled." The circumstances of this glorious event 
are more particularly described by Paul, in his Epis- 
tle to the Romans (chap, xi.) " If the fall of them 
be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of 
them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their 
* See Whitby's General Preface to the New Testament. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 169 

fjlness? For I would not, brethren, that ye should 
be ignorant of this mystery, that blindness in part is 
happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles 
be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved." The 
preaching of the gospel to all nations has been con- 
sidered in another place. 

After this concise review of some remarkable pro- 
phecies contained in the Bible, is there any one who 
can persuade himself that all these coincidences are 
accidental, oi* that the whole is a cunningly devised 
fable? Th&t man must indeed be blind, who cannot 
see this " light which shineth in a dark place ; this 
surf word of prophecy which holy men of God 
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 



?? 



CHAPTER XII. 



NO OTHER. RELIGION POSSESSES THE SAME KIND AND DEGREE OF EVIDENCE 
AS CHRISTIANITY J AND NO OTHER MIRACLES ARE AS WELL ATTESTED 
AS THOSE RECORDED IN THE BIBLE. 



Having given a brief view of the external evidences 
of Christianity, it is now proper to inquire whether 
any system of religion, ancient or modern, is as well 
supported by evidence ; and whether other miracles 
have testimony in their favour, as satisfactory as that 
by which the miracles of the gospel are accompanied. 
The usual declamation of infidel writers on this 
subject is calculated to make the impression on unsus- 
picious readers, that all religions are similar in their 
origin; that they all lay claim to miracles and divine 
communications; and that all stand upon an equal 
footing. Bat when we descend to particulars, and 
inquire what religions that now exist, or ever did 
exist, profess to rest their claims on well attested 
miracles and the exact accomplishment of prophecy, 
none besides the Jewish and Christian can be pro- 

15 



170 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

duced. Among the multiform systems of Paganism, 
there is not one which was founded on manifest 
miracles or prophecies. They had indeed their pro- 
digies and their oracles, by which the credulous mul- 
titude were deceived; and their founders pretended 
to have received revelations or to have held commu- 
nion with the gods. But what well attested miracu- 
lous fact can be produced from all the religions of the 
heathen world? What oracle ever gave responses 
so clear and free from ambiguity, as to^furnish evi- 
dence that the knowledge of futurity was possessed? 
It is easy to pretend to divine revelation: this is done 
by every fanatic. 

It is not disputed that many impostors have ap- 
peared in the world, as well as many deluded fanatics. 
But the reason why all their claims and pretensions 
may with propriety be rejected, is, that they were not 
able to exhibit any satisfactory evidence that they 
were commissioned from heaven to instruct mankind 
in religion. 

In this we are all agreed. Of what use therefore 
can it be, to bring up these impostures and delusions, 
when the evidences of the Christian religion are under 
consideration? Can it be a reason for rejecting a 
religion which comes well attested, that there have 
been innumerable false pretensions to divine revela- 
tion? Must miracles supported by abundant testi- 
mony be discredited, because there have been reports 
of prodigies and miracles which have no evidence? 
And because heathen oracles have given answers to 
inquiries respecting future events, dark, indetermi- 
nate, and designedly ambiguous; shall we place no 
confidence in numerous authentic prophecies, long 
ago committed to writing, which have been most 
exactly and wonderfully accomplished? 

It is alleged, that the early history of all ancient 
nations is fabulous, and abounds in stories of in- 
credible prodigies ; and hence it is inferred, that the 
miracles of the Old and New Testament should be 
considered in the same light. To which it may be 
replied, that this general consent of nations that mira- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 171 

cles have existed, is favourable to the opinion that 
true miracles have at some time occurred. It may 
again be observed, that the history of Moses, which 
is more than a thousand years older than any profane 
history, has every evidence of being a true relation 
of facts; and moreover, that the age in which the 
miracles of the New Testament were performed, so 
far from being a dark and fabulous age, was the most 
enlightened period of the heathen world. It was the 
age of the most celebrated historians, orators, and 
poets. There never was a time when it would have 
been more difficult to gain a general belief in mira- 
cles which had no sufficient testimony than in the 
Augustan and succeeding age. Not only did learn- 
ing flourish; but there was at that period a general 
tendency to skepticism and atheism. There can 
evidently therefore be no inference unfavourable to 
Christianity, derived from the belief of unfounded 
stories of miraculous events in the dark ages of anti- 
quity. The only effect of the prevalence of false 
accounts of miracles should be, to produce caution 
and careful examination into the evidence of every 
report of this kind. Reason dictates that truth and 
falsehood should never be confounded. Let every 
fact be subjected to the test of a rigid scrutiny, and 
let it stand or fall, according as it is supported or 
unsupported by testimony. If the miracles of the 
Bible have no better evidence than the prodigies of 
the heathen, they ought to receive no more credit ; 
but if they have solid evidence, they ought not to be 
confounded with reports which carry imposture on 
their very face, or at least have no credible testimony 
in their favour. 

There is no other way of deciding on facts which 
occurred long since, but by testimony. And the truth 
of Christianity is really a matter of fact. In support 
of it, we have adduced testimony which cannot be 
invalidated; and we challenge our opponents to show 
that any other religion stands on the same firm basis. 
Instead of this, they would amuse us with vague 
declamations on the credulity of man, and the many 



172 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

fabulous stories which have been circulated and be- 
lieved. But what has this to do with the question? 
We admit all this, and maintain that it does not fur- 
nish the semblance of an argument against the truth 
of the well-attested facts recorded by the evangelists. 
Because there is much falsehood in the world, is there 
no such thing as truth? It would be just as reason- 
able to conclude that, because many men have been 
convicted of falsehood, there are no persons of vera- 
city in the world; or because there are many knaves, 
all pretensions to honesty are unfounded. 

The Mohammedan religion is frequently brought 
forward by the enemies of revelation, with an air of 
confidence, as though the pretensions and success of 
that impostor would derogate from the evidences of 
Christianity. It is expedient, therefore, to bring this 
subject under a particular examination. And here 
let it be observed, that we do not reject any thing, 
respecting the origin and progress of this religion, 
which has been transmitted to us by competent and 
credible witnesses. We admit that Mohammed ex- 
isted and was the founder of a new sect, and that 
from a small beginning his religion spread with 
astonishing rapidity over the fairest portion of the 
globe. We admit also, that he was the author of the 
Koran, which he composed from time to time, pro- 
bably with the aid of some one or two other persons. 
It is also admitted, that he was an extraordinary 
man, and prosecuted the bold scheme which he had 
projected, with uncommon perseverance and address. 
Neither are we disposed to deny that the Koran con- 
tains many sublime passages, relative to God and his 
perfections, and many sound and salutary precepts 
of morality. That the language is elegant, and a 
standard of purity in the Arabic tongue, has been 
asserted by all Mohammedan writers, and conceded 
by many learned Christians. But as to his pretended 
revelations, there is no external evidence whatever 
that they were real ; and there is an overwhelming 
weight of internal evidence that they are not from 
God. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 173 

To bring this subject fairly before us, let the fol- 
lowing considerations be impartially weighed: 

1. The pretensions of Mohammed were supported, 
by no miracles or prophecies. He was often called 
upon by his opposers to confirm his mission by this 
decisive proof; but he always declined making the 
attempt, and resorted to various excuses and subter- 
fuges. In the Koran, God is introduced as saying, 
" Nothing hindered us from sending thee with mira- 
cles, except that the former nations have charged 
them with imposture: thou art a preacher only." 
Again, that if he did perform miracles, the people 
would not believe, as they had before rejected Moses, 
Jesus, and the prophets who performed them. 

Dr. Paley* has enumerated thirteen different places 
in the Koran, where this objection is considered, in 
not one of which is it alleged that miracles had been 
performed for its confirmation. It is true, that this 
artful man told of things sufficiently miraculous; but 
for the truth of these assertions, we have no manner 
of proof except his own word, which, in this case, is 
worth nothing. 

If it had been as easy a thing to obtain credit to 
stories of miracles publicly performed, as some sup- 
pose, surely Mohammed would have had recourse to 
this measure, when he was so pressed and teased by 
his enemies with a demand for this very evidence. 
But he had too much cunning to venture upon an 
expedient so dangerous; his opposers would quickly 
have detected and exposed the cheat. At length, 
however, he so far yielded to the demand of his ene- 
mies as to publish one of the most extravagant sto- 
ries which ever entered into the imagination of man, 
and solemnly swore that every word of it was true. 
I refer to his night journey to Jerusalem, and thence 
to heaven, under the guidance of the angel Gabriel. 

This marvellous story, however, had well nigh 
ruined his cause. His enemies treated it with de- 
served ridicule and scorn; and a number of his fol- 
lowers forsook him from that time. In fact, it ren- 

* Paley's Evidences. 
15* 



174 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

dered his further continuance at Mecca entirely inex- 
pedient ; and having before despatched some of his 
disciples to Medina, he betook himself with his fol- 
lowers to that city, where he met with a more cordial 
reception than in his native place. 

The followers of Mohammed, hundreds of years 
after his death, related many miracles, which they 
pretended that he performed: but their report is not 
only unsupported by testimony, but is in direct con- 
tradiction to the Koran, where he repeatedly dis- 
claims all pretensions to miraculous powers. And 
the miracles which they ascribe to him, while they 
are marvellous enough, are of that trifling and ludi- 
crous kind commonly to be met with in all forgeries 
in which miracles are represented as having been 
performed; such as, that the trees walked to meet 
him; that the stones saluted him; that a beam groaned 
to him; that a camel made complaint to him; and that 
a shoulder of mutton told him that it was poisoned. 

It appears then that Mohammedanism has no evi- 
dence whatever but the declaration of the impostor. 
It is impossible therefore that Christianity should be 
placed in a more favourable point of light than in 
comparison with the religion of Mohammed. The 
one, as we have seen, rests on well attested miracles ; 
the other does not exhibit the shadow of a proof that 
it was derived from heaven. 

2. It is fair to compare the moral characters of the 
respective founders of these two religions. And here 
we have as perfect a contrast as history can furnish. 
Jesus Christ was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
separate from sinners." His life was pure, without 
a stain. His most bitter enemies could find no fault 
in him. He exhibited, through life, the most perfect 
example of disinterested zeal, pure benevolence, and 
unaffected humility which the world ever saw. Mo- 
hammed was an ambitious, licentious, cruel, and un- 
just man. His life was stained with the most atro- 
cious crimes. Blasphemy, perjury, murder, adul- 
tery, and robbery, were actions of daily occurrence 
in his life. And to shield himself from censure, and 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 175 

open a door for unbridled indulgence, he pretended 
revelations from heaven to justify all his vilest prac- 
tices. He had the effrontery to pretend that God 
had given him the privilege to commit at pleasure 
the most abominable crimes. The facts which could 
be adduced in support of these general charges, are 
so numerous and so shocking, that I will not defile 
my paper, nor wound the feelings of the reader, by 
a recital of them. 

3. The Koran itself can never bear a comparison 
with the New Testament, in the view of any impar- 
tial person. It is a confused and incongruous heap 
of sublime sentiments, moral precepts, positive insti- 
tutions, extravagant and ridiculous stories, and ma- 
nifest lies and contradictions. Mohammed himself 
acknowledged that it contained many contradictions; 
but he accounted for this fact by alleging that what 
had been communicated to him in one chapter was 
repealed in a subsequent one: and so he charges his 
inconsistency on his Maker. The number of abro- 
gated passages is so great, that a Mussulman cannot 
be easily confuted by proving the falsehood of any 
declaration in the Koran; for he will have recourse 
to this doctrine of abrogation. There is nothing in 
this book which cannot easily be accounted for; no- 
thing above the capacity of impostors to accomplish. 
It is artfully accommodated to the religions of Ara- 
bia, prevalent at the time. It gives encouragement 
to the strongest and most vicious passions of human 
nature ; promotes ambition, despotism, revenge, and 
offensive war; opens wide the door of licentiousness ; 
and holds out such rewards and punishments as are 
adapted to make an impression on the minds of 
wicked men. It discourages, and indeed forbids all 
free inquiry, and all discussion of the doctrines which 
it contains. Whatever is excellent in the Koran, is 
in imitation of the Bible ; but wherever the author 
follows his own judgment, or indulges his own im- 
agination, we find falsehood, impiety, or ridiculous 
absurdity.* 

* See Ryan's History of the effects of Religion on Mankind. 



176 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

4. The means by which the religion of Moham- 
med was propagated were entirely different from 
those employed in the propagation of the gospel. If 
there is any point of strong resemblance between these 
two systems, it consists merely in the circumstance 
of their rapid and extensive progress and permanent 
continuance. 

But when we come to consider the means by 
which this end was attained in the two cases, instead 
of resemblance we find a perfect contrast. Moham- 
med did indeed attempt at first to propagate his reli- 
gion by persuasion and artifice, and these efforts he 
continued for twelve years, but with very small suc- 
cess. At the end of three years, he had gained no 
more than fourteen disciples ; at the end of seven 
years, his followers amounted to little more than 
eighty; at the end of twelve years when he fled from 
Mecca, the number was still very inconsiderable. As 
far, therefore, as there can be a fair comparison be- 
tween the progress of Christianity and Mohammed- 
anism — that is, during the time that Mohammed 
employed argument and persuasion alone — there is 
no resemblance. The progress of Christianity was 
like the lightning which shineth from one part of 
heaven to the other; extending in a few years, not 
only without aid from learning and power, but in 
direct opposition to both, throughout the whole Ro- 
man empire, and far beyond its limits. Mohammed- 
anism for twelve years made scarcely any progress, 
though it commenced among an ignorant and unciv- 
ilized people. During this period, the progress was 
scarcely equal to what might be expected from any 
artful impostor. This religion never spread in any 
other way than by the sword. As soon as the inhabi- 
tants of Medina declared in favour of Mohammed, 
he changed his whole plan, and gave out that he was 
directed to propagate his religion by force. From 
this time he is found engaged in war. He began 
by attacking mercantile caravans, and as his force 
increased went on to conquer the petty kingdoms 
into which Arabia was then divided.* Sometimes. 

J* Sec Prideaux's Life of Mohammed, j 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 177 

he put all the prisoners to death, and at other times, 
sold them into slavery. At first, the order was to 
massacre every creature that refused to embrace his 
religion ; but he became more lenient afterwards, 
especially to Jews and Christians. The alternative 
was, "the Koran, death, or tribute." 

But it is a great mistake to suppose that the con- 
quests of Mohammed himself were very extensive. 
He, never, during his life, extended his dominion 
beyond the limits of Arabia, except that he overran 
one or two inconsiderable provinces of Syria. It 
was by the Caliphs, his successors, that so great a 
part of Asia and Egypt were brought into subjection. 
But what is there remarkable in these successes more 
than those of other conquerors? Surely the propa- 
gation of Mohammedanism by the sword, however 
rapid or extensive, can never bear any comparison 
with that of Christianity, by the mere force of truth 
under the blessing of heaven. 

5. The tendency and effects of Mohammedanism, 
when compared with the tendency and effects of 
Christianity, serve to exhibit the latter in a very 
favourable light. The Christian religion has been a 
rich blessing to every country which has embraced 
it ; and its salutary effects have borne proportion to 
the care which has been taken to inculcate its genu- 
ine principles, and the cordiality with which its doc- 
trines have been embraced. What nations are truly 
civilized? Where does learning flourish? Where 
are the poor and afflicted most effectually relieved? 
Where do men enjoy the greatest security of life, 
property, and liberty? Where is the female sex 
treated with due respect, and exalted to its proper 
place in society? Where is the education of youth 
most assiduously pursued? Where are the brightest 
examples of benevolence; and where do men enjoy 
most rational happiness? If we were called upon to 
designate the countries in which these advantages 
are most highly enjoyed, every one of them would 
be found in Christendom; and the superiority enjoy- 
ed by some over the others, would be found to bear 



178 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

an exact proportion to the practical influence of pure 
Christianity. 

On the contrary, if we take a survey of the rich 
and salubrious regions possessed by Mohammedans, 
we behold a wide-spread desolation. The fairest 
portion of the globe, where arts, literature, and re- 
finement formerly most flourished, are now blighted. 
Every noble institution has sunk into oblivion. Des- 
potism extends its iron sceptre over these ill-fated 
countries, and all the tranquillity ever enjoyed is the 
dead calm of ignorance and slavery. Useful learn- 
ing is discouraged, free inquiry proscribed, and ser- 
vile submission required of all. Justice is pervert- 
ed or disregarded. No man has any security for 
life or property, and as to liberty, it is utterly lost 
wherever the Mohammedan religion prevails. While 
the fanatic ardour of making proselytes continued, 
the fury of the propagators of this faith rendered 
them irresistible. Indeed, their whole system is 
adapted to a state of war. The best work that 
can be performed, according to the Koran, is to 
fight for the propagation of the faith; and the high- 
est rewards are promised to those who die in battle. 
There is no doubt that the principles of the Koran 
greatly contributed to the conquest of the Saracens, 
by divesting them of all fear of death, and inspiring 
them with an assurance of being admitted into a 
sensual paradise, if it should be their fate to be slain 
in battle. " The sword is the key of heaven and 
hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a 
night spent under arms, is of more avail than two 
months of fasting and prayer. Whosoever falls in 
battle, his sins are forgiven. At the day of judg- 
ment, his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion 
and odoriferous as musk ; and the loss of his limbs 
shall be replaced by the wings of angels and cheru- 
bims." But when they had finished their conquests, 
and a state of peace succeeded their long and bloody 
wars, they sunk into torpid indolence and stupidity. 
While other nations have been making rapid im- 
provements in all the arts, they have remained sta- 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 179 

tionary, or rather have been continually going back- 
wards. They have derived no advantages from the 
revival of letters, the invention of printing, or other 
improvements in the arts and sciences. The people 
who have been subjected to their despotism without 
adopting their religion, are kept in the most degrad- 
ed subjection. 

At present,* the Greeks are making noble exer- 
tions to break the cruel yoke which has oppressed 
them, and though unsupported by Christian nations, 
have succeeded in expelling the Turks from a large 
portion of their country. God grant them success, 
and give them wisdom to make a good use of their 
liberty and independence when acquired and estab- 
lished !t Mohammedanism was permitted to prevail, 
as a just punishment to Christians for their luxury 
and dissensions. It is to be hoped, however, that 
the prescribed time of these "locusts of the abyss" % 
is nearly come to an end ; and that a just God, who 
has so long used them as a scourge to Christians, as 
he formerly did the Canaanites to be thorns in the 
eyes and in the sides of the Israelites, will soon bring 
to an end this horrible despotism, founded on a vile 
imposture. The signs of the times give strong indi- 
cations that the Mohammedan power will shortly be 
subverted. But it is not for us to "know the times 
and the seasons which the Father hath put in his 
own power." 

The only thing further necessary to be considered, 
in this chapter, is, the miracles which have been 
brought forward as a counterpoise to the miracles 
of Christ and his apostles. This is an old stratagem, 
at least as old as the second century, when one Phi- 
lostratus, at the request of Julia Augusta, wife of the 
emperor Severus, wrote a history, or rather romance, 
of Apollonius of Tyana, a town in Cappadocia. 
This Apollonius was nearly contemporary with Je- 
sus Christ; but whether he was a philosopher or a 
conjurer cannot now be ascertained; for as to the 

* A.D. 1825. 

t The Greeks have now become an independent nation, 1836. 

X Rev. ix. 3. 



180 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

story of Philostratus, which is still extant, it is total- 
ly unsupported by any reference to eye-witnesses of 
the facts, or any documents of credit, and has through- 
out as much the air of extravagant fiction as any 
thing that was ever published. That the design of 
the writer was to set up this Apollonius as a rival to 
Jesus Christ, is not avowed, but is sufficiently evi- 
dent from the similarity of many of his miracles to 
those recorded in the gospels, borrowed from the 
evangelical history. He is made to raise the dead, 
to cast out demons, and to rise from the dead him- 
self. In one instance, the very words of the demons 
expelled by Jesus Christ, as recorded by St. Luke, 
"Art thou come to torment us before the time?" are 
put into the mouth of a demon, said to be cast out 
by Apollonius. But in addition to these miracles, 
his biographer pretends that he saw beasts with a 
human head and a lion's body, women half white 
and half black, together with phoenixes, griffins, dra- 
gons, and similar fabulous monsters. 

In the fourth century, Hierocles, a bitter enemy 
of Christianity, instituted a comparison between Je* 
sus and Apollonius, in which, after considering their 
miracles, he gives the preference to the latter. This 
book was answered by Eusebius, from whose work 
only, we can now learn how Hierocles treated the 
subject, as the book of the latter is not extant. The 
only conclusion which can be deduced from this his- 
tory of Apollonius is, that the miracles of Christ were 
so firmly believed in the second century, and were 
attended by such testimony, that the enemies of 
Christianity could not deny the facts, and therefore 
resorted to the expedient of circulating stories of 
equal miracles performed by another. 

Modern infidels have not been ashamed to resort 
to the same stale device. Mr. Hume has taken 
much pains to bring forward a great array of evi- 
dence in favour of certain miracles, in which he has 
no faith, with the view of discrediting the truth of 
Christianity. These have been so fully and satisfac- 
torily considered by Dr. Douglass, Bishop of Salis- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 181 

bury, in his Criterion, and by Dr. Campbell, in his 
Essay on Miracles, that I need only refer to these 
learned authors for a complete confutation of Hume's 
arguments from this source. 

For the sake, however, of those who may not have 
access to these works, I will lay down a few general 
principles by which we may distinguish true and 
false miracles ; for which I am indebted principally 
to the author of the Criterion. 

1. The nature of the facts should be well consider- 
ed, whether they are miraculous. The testimony 
which supports a fact may be sufficient, and yet it 
may have been brought about by natural causes. 

The miracles of Jesus Christ were such that there 
was no room for doubt respecting their supernatural 
character; but a great part of those performed by 
others, which have received the best attestation, were 
of such a nature that they may readily be accounted 
for, without supposing any divine interposition. The 
case of the man diseased in his eyes, said to have 
been cured by Vespasian's rubbing his hand over 
them, and the lame man cured by a touch of the 
emperor's foot, were no doubt impositions practised 
by the priests of the temple where they were per- 
formed. The emperor did not pretend to possess any 
miraculous power, and was induced, only after much 
persuasion, to make the experiment. It may be 
admitted that the facts as related by Tacitus, though 
he was not an eye-witness, are true. Such persons 
were probably brought forward and a cure pretended 
to be made, but there is no evidence that there was 
a real miracle. There was no one present who felt 
interested to examine into the truth of the miracle. 
The priests who proposed the thing had no doubt 
prepared their subjects; and the emperor was flatter- 
ed by the honour of being selected by their god to 
work a miracle. How often do beggars in the street 
impose upon many, by pretending to be blind and 
lame! The high encomiums which Mr. Hume be- 
stows on the historian Tacitus, in order to set off the 
testimony to the best advantage, can have no weight 

16 



182 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY* 

here; for he only related what he had heard from 
others, and showed pretty evidently that he did not 
credit the story himself. 

The same may be said respecting the man at 
Saragossa, spoken of by Cardinal de Retz, who was' 
represented as having been seen without a leg, but 
obtained one by rubbing the stump with holy oil. 
The Cardinal had no other evidence of his having 
ever been maimed, than the suspicious report of the 
canons of the Church; and he took no pains to ascer- 
tain whether the leg which he obtained was really 
flesh and blood, or an artificial limb. 

A great part of the cures said to have been per- 
formed at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, were proved 
upon examination to be mere pretences; and those 
which were real may easily be accounted for, from 
the influence of a heated imagination and enthusias- 
tic feelings; especially, since we have seen the won- 
derful effects of animal magnetism and metallic trac- 
tors. 

The Abbe Paris was the oldest son of a counsellor 
of Paris, but being much inclined to a life of devo- 
tion he relinquished his patrimony to his younger 
brother, and retired to an obscure part of Paris, 
where he spent his life in severe penance, and in 
charitable exertions for the relief of the distressed 
poor. He was buried in the ground of the church 
of St. Medard, near the wall, where his brother 
erected a tombstone over the grave. To this spot 
many poor people who knew his manner of life, 
came to perform their devotions, as much, probably, 
out of feelings of gratitude as any thing else. Some, 
among the devotees who attended at this place, pro- 
fessed that they experienced a salutary change in 
their ailments. This being noised abroad, as the 
Abbe had been a zealous Jansenist all who were of 
his party encouraged the idea of miracles having 
been performed; and multitudes who were indis- 
posed, were induced to go to the tomb of the saint ; 
and some, as they confessed before a competent tri- 
bunal, were persuaded to feign diseases which they 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 183 

never had. It is a fact, however, that the greater 
part received no benefit, and that more diseases were 
produced than were cured: for, soon, many of the 
worshippers were seized with convulsions, from which 
proceeded the sect of Convulsionists, which attract- 
ed attention for many years. 

It was soon found expedient to close up the tomb; 
but cures were still said to be performed by the saint 
on persons in distant places. The Jesuits exerted 
themselves to discredit the w r hole business, and the 
Archbishop of Paris had a judicial investigation made 
of a number of the most remarkable cases, the results 
of which were various, and often ludicrous. A young 
woman said to have been cured at the tomb of blind- 
ness and lameness, was proved to have been neither 
blind nor lame. A man with diseased eyes was 
relieved, but it appeared that he was then using 
powerful medicine, and that, after all, his eyes were 
not entirely healed. A certain Abbe who had the 
misfortune to have one of his legs shorter than the 
other, was persuaded that he experienced a sensible 
elongation of the defective limb, but on measurement 
no increase could be discovered. A woman in the 
same situation danced on the tomb daily to obtain an 
elongation of a defective limb, and was persuaded 
that she received benefit ; but it was ascertained, that 
she would have to dance there fifty -four years, before 
the cure would be effected, at the rate at which it 
was proceeding; but as for the unfortunate Abbe, 
seventy-two years would have been requisite. In 
short, the whole number of cures, after examination, 
was reduced to eight or nine, all of which can be 
easily accounted for on natural principles ; and in 
several of these instances, the cures were not perfect. 

2. A second consideration of great weight is, that 
in true miracles we can trace the testimony to the 
very time when the facts are said to have occurred, 
but in false miracles the report of the facts originates 
a long time afterwards, as in the case of Apollonius, 
the miracles ascribed to Mohammed by Abulfeda, 
and Al-Janabbi, and the miracles ascribed by the 



184 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Jesuits to Ignatius Loyola their founder; which were 
never heard of until long after his death. 

3. Another criterion of importance is, that the re- 
port of miracles should originate and first obtain credit 
in the place and among the people, where they are 
said to have been performed. This is too remarkably 
the fact, in regard to the miracles of the Bible, to 
require any proof. But many stories of miracles are 
rendered suspicious by the circumstance that they 
were first reported and believed in some place far 
from that in which they were alleged to have been 
wrought. The miracles ascribed by the Romanists 
to Francis Xavier, are condemned by both the rules 
last mentioned. In all his letters while a missionary 
in the east, he never hints that miracles had been 
wrought; and a reputable writer who gave some 
account of his labours nearly forty years after his 
death, not only is silent about Xavier's miracles, but 
confesses that no miracles had been performed among 
the Indians. These miracles were said to be per- 
formed in the remote parts of India and Japan, but 
the report of them was published first in Europe. 
Almost all the miracles ascribed by the Romish Church 
to her saints, fall into the same predicament. The 
history of them is written long after they are said to 
have been performed, and often in countries remote 
from the place where it is pretended they occurred; 
or they are manifestly the effect of cunning contriv- 
ance and imposture. 

4. Another necessary question in judging of the 
genuineness of miracles, is, whether the facts were 
scrutinized at the time, or were suffered to pass with- 
out examination. When the miracles reported coin- 
cide with the passions and prejudices of those before 
whom they are performed ; when they are exhibited 
by persons in power, who can prevent all examina- 
tion and put what face they please on facts, they 
may well be reckoned suspicious. The cures at the 
tomb of the Abbe Paris were not performed in these 
circumstances. The Jansenists were not in power, 
ani their enemies not only had the opportunity to 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 185 

examine into the facts, but actually did so with the 
utmost diligence. We have reason to believe, there- 
fore, that we have now a true report of those occur- 
rences. The defect of these miracles is in their na- 
ture, not in their evidence. 

But, in most cases, the miracles which have been 
reported, took place when there was no opportunity 
of examining into the facts; when the people were 
pleased to be confirmed in their favourite opinions; 
or when the ruling powers had some peculiar end to 
answer.* 

But supposing these miracles to be ever so well 
attested, I do not perceive how the evidence of divine 
revelation can be affected by them; for if it could be 
made to appear that these were supported by testi- 
mony as strong as that which can be adduced in 
favour of the miracles of the New Testament, the 
only fair conclusion is, that they who believe in 
Christianity should admit them to be true — but what 
then? Would it folio w, because miracles had been 
wrought on some rare occasions, different from those 
recorded in the Bible, that therefore, these were of 
no validity as evidence of divine revelation? Would 
not the fact that other miracles had been wrought, 
rather confirm our belief in those which were per- 
formed with so important a design? Mr. Hume does, 
indeed, artfully insinuate that the various accounts 
of miracles which exist cannot be true, because the 
religions which they were wrought to confirm, are 
opposite ; yet not one of those which he brings for- 
ward as being best attested, was performed in confir- 
mation of any new religion, or to prove any particu- 
lar doctrine, therefore they are not opposed to Chris- 
tianity. If they had actually occurred, it would not 
in the least disparage the evidence for the facts re- 
corded in the New Testament. And especially, it is 
a strange conceit, that miracles performed within the 
bosom of the Christian Church should furnish any 
proof against Christianity. 

It is, however, no part of the object of those who 

* On this whole subject, see Douglass's Criterion. 
16* 



186 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

bring forward such an array of testimony in support 
of certain miracles, to prove that such facts ever 
occurred. This is diametrically opposite to their 
purpose. Their design is to discredit all testimony 
in favour of miracles, by showing, that facts acknow- 
ledged to be false have evidence as strong as those 
on which revealed religion rests. But they have 
utterly failed in the attempt, as we have shown: and 
if they had succeeded in adducing as strong testimo- 
ny for other miracles, we would readily admit their 
truth, and that in perfect consistency with our belief 
in Christianity. 

The Romish Church and some other fanatical sects, 
do still profess to work miracles; but these pretences 
are never submitted to the test of an impartial exam- 
ination by opposers. Or if they are ever publicly 
exhibited, as in the case of the liquefaction of the 
blood of St. Januarius, it only serves to convince all 
reasonable men that it is a gross imposture. 



CHAPTER XIIL 



THE BIBLE CONTAINS INTERNAL EVIDENCE THAT ITS ORIGIN IS DIVINE. 

As the Old and New Testaments are intimately con- 
nected, and form parts of the same system, it is un- 
necessary to make any distinction between them, in 
considering this branch of the evidence of divine re- 
velation. 

A late writer,* of great eminence and popularity, 
has represented this species of evidence as unsatis- 
factory; as not capable of being so treated as to pro- 
duce conviction in the minds of philosophical infidels; 
and as opening a door to their most specious objec- 
tions to Christianity. But certainly this is not the most 
effectual method of supporting the credit of the Scrip- 

* Dr. Chalmers. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 187 

tures. Another popular writer,* has gone to the other 
extreme, and seems to set little value on the exter- 
nal evidences of Christianity, while he exhibits the 
internal in a light so strong that his argument assumes 
the appearance of demonstration.! 

But these two species of evidence, though distinct, 
are harmonious, and strengthen each other. There 
is, therefore, no propriety in disparaging the one for 
the purpose of enhancing the value of the other. I 
believe, however, that more instances have occurred 
of skeptical men being convinced of the truth of 
Christianity by the internal than by the external 
evidences. It is the misfortune of most infidels, that 
they have no intimate acquaintance with the Bible ; 
and even many of those who have undertaken to 
write against it, appear never to have read it with 
any other view than to find some ground of objec- 
tion. 

.. No doubt it is necessary to come to the examina- 
tion of this species of evidence, with a candid and 
docile disposition. If reason be permitted proudly 
to assume the seat of judgment, and to decide what 
a revelation ought to contain in particular; in what 
manner, and with what degree of light it should be 
communicated ; whether it should be made perfectly 
at once, or gradually unfolded; and whether, from 
the beginning, it should be universal ; no doubt, the 
result of an examination of the contents of the Bible, 
conducted on such principles, will prove unsatisfac- 
tory, and insuperable objections will occur at every 
step in the progress. It was wise in Dr. Chalmers to 
endeavour to discourage such a mode of investiga- 
tion, as being most unreasonable; for how is it pos- 
sible that such a creature as man should be able to 
know what is proper for the infinite God to do, or in 
what way he should deal with his creatures upon 
earth? To borrow the language of this powerful 

* Soame Jenyns. 

f The author has the pleasure of knowing that in his more recent 
publications, Dr. Chalmers recognizes the validity and importance 
of the internal evidence of Christianity, and has treated the subject 
in his usual forcible and convincing manner. 



188 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

writer,* " We have experience of man, but we have 
no experience of God. We can reason upon the 
procedure of man in given circumstances, because 
this is an accessible subject, and comes under the 
cognizance of observation ; but we cannot reason 
upon the procedure of the Almighty in given circum- 
stances." But when he speaks "of disclaiming all 
support from what is commonly understood by the 
internal evidence," and " saving a vast deal of con- 
troversy, by proving that all this is superfluous and 
uncalled for," I am constrained to think that, instead 
of aiding the cause of Christianity, the excellent 
author has attempted to take away one of its firmest 
props. The internal evidence of revelation is analo- 
gous to the evidence of the being and perfections of 
God from the works of creation : and the same mode 
of reasoning which the deist adopts relative to the 
doctrines and institutions of the Bible, the atheist 
may adopt, with equal force, against the existence 
of a God. If men will be so presumptuous as to 
determine, that if God makes a world he will form it 
according to their idea of fitness, and that the ap- 
parent imperfections and incomprehensibilities in the 
material universe could never have proceeded from 
a being of infinite perfection, atheism must follow 
of course. But if, notwithstanding all these ap- 
parent evils and obscurities, there is in the struc- 
ture of the world the most convincing evidence of 
the existence of an all-wise and all-powerful being, 
why may we not expect to find the same kind of 
evidence impressed on a revelation from God? Upon 
Dr. Chalmers' principles we ought to depend simply 
on historical testimony, for the fact, that God cre- 
ated this world; and "disclaim all support" from 
what may, without impropriety, be termed the in- 
ternal evidence of the existence of God, derived from 
the contemplation of the work itself. The truth 
however, is, that every thing which proceeds from 
God, whatever difficulties or obscurities accompany 
it, will contain and exhibit the impress of his charao 
* Chalmers' Evidences. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 189 

ter. As this is resplendently visible in the heavens 
and in the earth, it is reasonable to think that it will 
not be less manifest in his word. If the truths con- 
tained ill a revelation be worthy of God, they will 
be stamped with his image; and if this can be in 
any measure discovered, it undoubtedly furnishes the 
most direct and convincing evidence of their divine 
origin. This is, without being reduced to the form 
of a regular argument, precisely the evidence on 
which the faith of the great body of Christians has 
always rested. They are incapable of appreciating 
the force of the external evidence. It requires an 
extent of learning which plain Christians cannot be 
supposed commonly to possess. But the internal 
evidence is within their reach ; it acts directly upon 
their minds whenever they read or hear a portion of 
the word of God. The belief of common, unlearned 
Christians, is not necessarily founded on the mere 
prejudice of education ; it rests on the best possible 
evidence. And as there is a faith which is saving 
and to which a purifying efficacy is ascribed ; if we 
inquire on what species of evidence this depends, it 
must be answered, on internal evidence, not indeed 
as perceived by the unaided intellect of man, but as 
it is exhibited to the mind by the illumination of the 
Holy Spirit. We cannot consent, therefore, to give 
up this species of evidence, as " superfluous and un- 
called for;" but must consider it, if not the most 
effectual to silence gainsayers, yet certainly the most 
useful to the real Christian ; and if unbelievers could 
be induced to attend to it with docility and impar- 
tiality, there is reason to think that they would ex- 
perience its efficacy, in the gradual production of 
a firm conviction of the truth of Christianity. The 
internal evidence of the truth of the Scriptures can- 
not be fully brought into view, in any other way 
than by a careful study of the Bible. It cannot 
easily be put into the form of logical argument, for it 
consists in moral fitness and beauty; in the adapta- 
tion of truth to the human mind ; in its astonishing 
power of penetrating and searching the heart and 



190 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

affecting the conscience. There is a sublime sancti- 
ty in the doctrines and precepts of the gospel; a de- 
votional and heavenly spirit pervading the Scriptures; 
a purity and holy tendency which cannot but be felt 
by the serious reader of the word of God ; and a 
power to sooth and comfort the sorrowful mind ; all 
which qualities may be perceived, and will have 
their effect, but cannot be embodied and presented, 
with their full force, in the form of argument. But 
although this evidence, from the nature of the case, 
cannot be exhibited in its entire body, to any but 
those who study the Scriptures and meditate on their 
truths day and night, it is possible to select some 
prominent points and present them to the reader in 
such a light as to produce a salutary impression. 
This is what will be briefly attempted in the follow- 
ing remarks, which might without difficulty be great- 
ly enlarged. 

1. The Scriptures speak of God and his attributes 
in a way which accords with what right reason 
would lead us to expect in a divine revelation. He 
is uniformly represented in the Bible as one, and as 
a being of infinite perfection; as eternal, omnipotent, 
omniscient, omnipresent, and immutable. And it is 
truly remarkable, that these correct and sublime 
views of theology were entertained by those who 
possessed the Scriptures, when all other nations had 
fallen into the grossest polytheism and most degrad- 
ing idolatry. Other nations were more powerful, 
and greatly excelled the Israelites in human learn- 
ing; but in the knowledge of God all were in thick 
darkness, whilst this people enjoyed the light of truth. 
Learned men and philosophers arose in different 
countries, and obtained celebrity on account of their 
theories, but they effected no change in the popular 
opinions; indeed, they could not enlighten others, 
when they were destitute of the light of truth them- 
selves. However deists may deride and scoff at the 
Bible, it is a fact capable of the clearest proof, that 
had it not been for the Scriptures, there would not 
at this time be such a thing as pure theism upon 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 191 

earth. There is not now in the world an individual 
who believes in one infinitely perfect God, whose 
knowledge of this truth may not be traced directly or 
indirectly to the Bible. 

How can it be accounted for that the true theology 
should be found accompanying the Scriptures in all 
ages, while it was lost every where else, unless we 
admit that they are a revelation from God ? If the 
knowledge of the true God, as received by the Jews, 
was the discovery of reason, why was it that other 
nations advanced far beyond them in learning and 
mental culture, never arrived at the knowledge of 
this important truth ? 

It is true, indeed, that the Scriptures sometimes 
represent God as having bodily parts and human 
passions; but a little consideration will show the 
attentive reader, that all these expressions are used 
in accommodation to the manner of speaking among 
men. Human language is inadequate to express the 
attributes and operations of the Supreme Being. He 
is infinitely above our conceptions, both in his essence 
and his mode of existence and acting. We can do 
no more than approximate towards just ideas on this 
subject. When we speak of him we are under the 
necessity of conceiving of his perfections with some 
relation to the operations of the human mind, and 
to employ language expressive of human acts and 
feelings; for all other language would be unintelligi- 
ble. The necessity of this accommodation extends 
much further than many seem to suppose. It exists 
not only in relation to words which, taken literally, 
convey the idea of bodily members and human pas- 
sions, but also in regard to those which express the 
operations of will and intellect. This mode of speak- 
ing therefore, instead of being an objection against 
the Bible, is an argument of the wisdom of its Author, 
who has spoken to man in the only way in which he 
could be understood. 

Again, it is seen by the most cursory reader that 
truth is not taught in the Bible in a scientific or sys- 
tematic order. We have no profound metaphysical 



192 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

disquisitions of philosophical principles; no array of 
artifical dialectics; no systematic arrangement of the 
subjects treated. In all this there may be great 
wisdom, and whether we can see the reason or not, 
the objection to revelation on this ground is not 
greater than the one which may be made to the 
natural world, because the materials for building 
which it contains, are not found erected into houses ; 
and because all its fields and forests are not placed 
in the order of an artificial garden or regular orchard. 
The method of speaking of God, in the sacred 
Scriptures, is at once most simple and sublime. Few 
words are employed, but these are most significant. 
When Moses wished to receive an appropriate name 
which he might mention to Pharaoh, he was directed 
to say, I am that I am, hath sent me. And when on 
another occasion, the name of the Most High was 
declared to Moses, it was in the following remarkable 
words : The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and 

GRACIOUS, LONG-SUFFERING AND ABUNDANT IN GOOD- 
NESS and truth; keeping mercy for thousands; 

FORGIVING INIQUITY, AND TRANSGRESSION, AND SIN; 
AND THAT WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY. 

If the most perfect simplicity, united with the highest 
sublimity, would be received as a proof that the 
writers of these books were inspired, we could adduce 
hundreds of passages of this description; but we 
mean not to lay any undue stress on the argument 
derived from this source. 

The glory of the Scriptures is the revelation which 
they contain of the moral attributes of God. These 
are manifested with but a feeble light in the works 
of creation ; but in the Bible they shine with trans- 
cendent lustre. It would by no means comport with 
the intended brevity of this work, to enter much into 
detail on this subject, but I must beg the indulgence 
of the reader while I endeavour to bring distinctly 
into view the account which the Scriptures give us 
of the holiness and the goodness of God. 

These two attributes are stamped on the pages 
of the Bible, and form its grand characteristic. It is 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 193 

of no importance whether we consider these as dis- 
tinct or as expressive of two aspects in which the 
same infinite excellence is exhibited. Who can open 
this sacred book without perceiving that the God of 
the Bible is holy ? All his laws, institutions, and 
dispensations are holy; even those laws which are 
ceremonial have this characteristic. Every person, 
edifice, and utensil employed in his worship, must be 
solemnly consecrated; and all must approach God 
with caution and reverence, because he is holy. The 
very ground where he occasionally makes himself 
known is rendered holy. Every external sign and 
emblem of profound reverence, is required in them 
who worship him; and when he manifests himself 
with more than usual clearness, the holiest men are 
overwhelmed and become as dead men under a 
sense of their own vileness. And not only so, but 
even the heavenly hosts who are free from every 
stain of sin, seem to be overwhelmed with the view 
of the holiness of God. They not only cry to one 
another, as they worship around his august throne, 
holy, holy, holy, but they are represented, as falling 
prostrate at his feet, and veiling their faces in token 
of profound veneration. All those passages of Scrip- 
ture which speak of the wrath, the indignation, 
the fury, the jealousy, or the anger of the 
Almighty, are no more than strong expressions of 
his infinite holiness. All his severe judgments and 
threatenings; all the misery which he ever inflicts on 
his creatures in this world or the next; and above all, 
the intense and ineffable sufferings of Christ, are ex- 
hibitions of the holiness of God. 

Now if there be a God, he must be holy; and if 
he make a revelation of himself, it will be marked 
with this impress of his character. Wicked men 
would never have made this attribute so prominent ; 
they would have been disposed rather to keep it 
entirely out of view. There is no truth more evident 
to the attentive observer of human nature than that 
men do not naturally love holiness, although they are 
obliged to acknowledge its worth. This, I believe, is 

17 



194 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the true reason why the Scriptures, although they 
contain the highest excellence in composition, both 
in prose and poetry, of which a good taste cannot be 
insensible, are neglected by literary men, or rather 
studiously avoided. A mere fragment of any other 
book, if it could claim an equal antiquity with the 
Bible, and especially if it possessed any thing like its 
excellence of composition, would be sought after with 
avidity by all men of taste; but the Bible remains 
almost as much unstudied by men of this description 
as the Koran. This has often appeared to me para- 
doxical; but I am now persuaded that the true rea- 
son is the awful holiness of God, as exhibited in this 
book and impressed on almost every page. This 
glares upon the conscience of an unholy man, as the 
meridian sun on diseased eyes. God is a consuming 
eire. This common dislike of the Bible, even in 
men of refined taste and decent lives, furnishes a 
strong argument for its divine origin. The question 
before us, is, who composed this book, inspired men 
or wicked impostors? The characteristic which we 
have been considering, will accord perfectly with the 
former supposition ; it never can be reconciled with 
the latter. There is a moral certainty that base im- 
postors never would have written a book, the most 
remarkable trait of which is holiness. 

The goodness of god, or that benevolence which 
he exercises towards his creatures, as it appears in 
the providence which sustains and feeds so great a 
multitude of sentient beings, and which is conspic- 
uously manifested to the human family, is often cele- 
brated in the Scriptures. Some of the most beautiful 
and sublime poems which were ever written, are 
employed in celebrating the praise of God for his 
marvellous goodness. The reader is requested to 
turn to the 34th, 103d, 104th, 145th, 147th, and 148th 
Psalms, as an exemplification of this remark. 

There is another and a peculiar view of the divine 
goodness given in the Scriptures. It is that form of 
goodness called mercy. It is the love of creatures 
who had forfeited all claim to any kindness. It is 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 195 

the bestowing of pardon and salvation on those who 
are condemned to death by the righteous laws of 
God; and this without showing himself less displeased 
with their sins than if he had punished them for ever. 
This is the view of divine goodness which is peculiar 
to the Bible. Reason could not have formed a con- 
jecture concerning it. It is the development of a 
trait in the divine character before unknown. To 
reveal the mercy of God, may with truth be said to 
be the principal object of the Bible. But our idea 
of this divine goodness is very imperfect until we 
learn in what way it was manifested. No words 
can express this so well as those of Christ himself: 
" God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." 

To many, perhaps, it will appear that this love 
is so extraordinary, that it rather forms an objection 
against the Bible than an argument in its favour. If 
the wonderful and unparalleled nature of any thing 
were an objection to it, then I acknowledge that there 
would be some ground for this opinion. But what 
is there which is not full of wonders, when we come 
to contemplate it attentively? It is wonderful that 
there should exist such a creature as man, or such a 
body of light as the sun; but shall we therefore refuse 
to believe in their existence? To come nearer to the 
subject, what is there in the character of God or his 
works, which is not calculated to fill the mind with 
surpassing wonder? His eternity, his omniscience, 
his omnipresence, his creating power, his universal 
providence are so wonderful, that we are at a loss to 
say which is most wonderful; or whether any thing 
else can be more wonderful. But is this any argu- 
ment against their reality? And if God is so won- 
derful in his other attributes, shall we expect to find 
nothing of this kind in his love, which is his highest 
glory? There is, indeed, no goodness of this sort 
among men; but shall we make our faint and limited 
shadow of perfection the measure by which to judge 
of the character of the infinite God? How unreason- 



196 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

able such a procedure! The objection derived from 
the insignificance of man, the object of this wonderful 
love, is delusive; for the same objection would lie, if 
his powers were increased ever so much. In com- 
parison with God, all creatures may be considered as 
on a level ; in this view all distinctions among them 
are, as it were, annihilated. On the same principles, 
how easy would it be to construct an argument 
against the providence of God ! There are innumer- 
able myriads of animalcules, invisible to man, all of 
which have a perfect organization, and no more than 
an ephemeral existence. It might be said these 
minute creatures are too diminutive to occupy the 
attention of an infinite being. It might be said that 
the display of so much skill in the organization of 
creatures of a day, was unsuitable to the wisdom of 
God. But however plausible such objections may 
be made to appear, they are all founded in a pre- 
sumptuous intrusion into what does not appertain to 
us, and concerning which we have no ability to form 
any correct judgment. Man has an infinitude below 
him as well as above him, in the gradation of being. 
I do not mean to say that creation is absolutely infi- 
nite, but that we can fix no bounds to the possibility 
of a continual existence of creatures in the scale of 
perpetual diminution, any more than we can to the 
possibility of creatures still increasing in magnitude 
above us. In this respect, as in others, we stand 
between two infinitudes, the great and the small. A 
single drop of liquid contains myriads of perfectly 
organized creatures; and who knows but every par- 
ticle of the blood of these invisible animalcules may 
contain other worlds of beings still more minute, 
without its being possible for us to fix any limit to 
the diminution in the size of creatures? 

But to return; unless it can be shown, that such 
love as that exhibited in the gospel is impossible, 
which will not be pretended, or that it is repugnant 
to the moral attributes of God, its wonderful nature 
can never be used as an argument against its exist- 
ence. It should be rather argued, the more wonder- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 197 

ful, the more like God ; the more wonderful, if no 
appearance of human weakness accompany it, the 
more unlikely to be the invention of man. 

And here I would suggest an idea, which, if cor- 
rect, would shed light on the subject ; namely, that 
wonder is congenial to the constitution of our minds. 
The soul of man never enjoys more elevated emo- 
tions and more exalted pleasure, than in the contem- 
plation of objects so great and vast as to be perfectly 
incomprehensible. This is the foundation of that 
perpetual adoration which occupies the inhabitants 
of heaven. An incomprehensible God is the object 
of contemplation and wonder to every creature. 

2. The account which the Bible gives of the origin 
and character of man accords, very exactly, with rea- 
son and experience. Indeed, this is the only source 
of our knowledge respecting the circumstances in 
which man was placed when he came from the hand 
of his Creator. Here we learn the origin of many 
things which we observe, but the reason of which 
we never could have discovered. The Bible teaches 
us that the wickedness which has existed in all ages 
and among all people, originated in the apostasy of 
the first man. It tells us the reason of covering the 
body with clothing, which is the custom of all nations, 
even where clothing is unnecessary to preserve the 
body from the effects of cold. Here we learn the 
cause of the earth's producing briers and thorns 
spontaneously, while useful grain and fruits must be 
cultivated. Here we learn the origin of marriage, 
and of the curse which has followed the female sex 
through all ages. Moses has also given us the ori- 
gin of that species of religious worship which was 
anciently practised among all people, but of which 
reason can teach us nothing. I mean the sacrifice 
of animals on an altar, and the offerings of grain, 
of incense, &c. He has also related the fact of a 
universal deluge, of which we have so many ocular 
proofs in every country and on every mountain, as 
well as so manv ancient traditions. 

The dispersion of the human family over the face 

17* 



198 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

of the earth, and the origin of the several nations of 
antiquity, are recorded in the Bible; and although 
this record is contained in a single short chapter, and 
has to us much obscurity, yet Bishop Watson de- 
clared, that if we had no other evidence of the 
authenticity of the Pentateuch besides the tenth chap- 
ter of Genesis, he would deem that alone satisfac- 
tory.* 

The origin of the diversity of language is also 
found in the Bible, and not learned from any other 
source. Indeed, the origin of language itself, concern- 
ing which philosophers have disputed so much, is 
very evident from the history of Moses. * Many 
learned men have thought that alphabetical writing 
took its rise from the writing of the decalogue by the 
finger of God upon the tables of stone; and I believe 
it would be found very difficult to prove by any 
authentic documents, that this art existed before. Be 
this as it may, it must be admitted that the earliest 
specimen of alphabetical writing now extant is con- 
tained in the Bible. 

To these particulars it may be added that we have 
an account in the Bible of those nations and people, 
concerning whom the earliest profane historians treat, 
long before their histories commence ; and when his- 
tory comes down to that period when the affairs of 
nations are described by others, it receives ample 
corroboration from their narratives, as well as gives 
great light to enable us to understand many things 
which they have imperfectly recorded. 

But the account which the Bible gives of the moral 
condition of man is that which is now most to our 
purpose. In all ages and circumstances the human 
race are represented as exceedingly depraved and 
wicked. Every man is declared to be a transgressor, 
and the root of this depravity is placed in the heart. 
Many of the gross crimes to which we all are in- 
clined, and into the practice of which many fall, are 
enumerated ; and where these are avoided and con- 
cealed, the heart is described as deceitful and despe- 

* See Watson's Address to Scoffers. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 199 

rately wicked; and that pride and hypocrisy, which 
spread a false covering over the true character of 
man, are denounced as among the things most hateful 
to God. Now, if this picture is not taken from the 
life; if the character of man is entirely different from 
that delineated in the Scriptures, or if the vices of our 
nature are exaggerated; however difficult it may be 
to account for such misrepresentation, still it would 
furnish a strong argument against the inspiration of 
the writers of the several books of which the Bible 
consists. But on the other hand, if the character of 
man, as given in the Scriptures, is found exactly to 
correspond with universal experience and observa- 
tion, it will be found an incontestable proof that the 
writers were guided by a strict regard to truth. To 
enter into a particular consideration of this subject, 
does not comport with the plan of this work; but for 
the truth of the representations of Scripture, I would 
appeal to all authentic history, and to every man's 
own observation and experience. The description 
which the apostle Paul gives of the vices of the hea- 
then world in his time, is corroborated by all the 
historians and satirists who lived near that period. 
And who needs a laboured proof to show that men 
have generally a tendency to be wicked? Every 
civil institution, and all the most expensive provisions 
of civil government, are intended to set up barriers 
against the violence, injustice and licentiousness of 
man. Indeed civil government itself originated in 
nothing else than the necessity of protection against 
the wickedness of men. This, however, is a painful 
and mortifying conclusion, and it is not wonderful 
that pride and self-flattery should render us reluctant 
to admit it ; nevertheless, every impartial man must 
acknowledge that the human character is correctly 
drawn in the Bible. 

There is something wonderful in the power which 
the word of God possesses over the consciences of 
men. To those who never read or hear it, this fact 
must be unknown; but it is manifest to those who 
are conversant with the sacred volume, or who are 



200 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

in the habit of hearing it expounded. Why should 
this book, above all others, have the power of pene- 
trating and searching the inmost recesses of the soul, 
and showing to a man the multitude and enormity 
of the evils of his heart and life ? This may by some 
be attributed to early education, but I believe, if the 
experiment could be fairly tried, it would be found, 
that men who had never been brought up with any 
sentiment of reverence for the Bible, would experi- 
ence its power over the conscience. The very best 
cure therefore for infidelity, would be the serious 
perusal of the Holy Scriptures. " The entrance of 
thy word giveth light." " The law of the Lord is 
perfect, converting the soul." 

3. It deserves our special attention, in considering 
the internal evidences of Christianity, that the Scrip- 
tures contain explicit information on those points on 
which man stands most in need of instruction. These 
may be reduced to three : first, the doctrine of a fu- 
ture state of retribution ; secondly, the assurance that 
sin may be pardoned, and the method by which this 
can consistently be done ; thirdly, the means for re- 
storing the depraved nature of man to a state of rec- 
titude. We are not capable of determining in parti- 
cular, as we have before shown, what a revelation 
should contain, but it is reasonable to think that if 
God gives a revelation, it will contain some instruc- 
tion on these important points. And when we ex- 
amine what the Scriptures teach on these subjects, 
it is found that the doctrine is worthy of God, and 
so adapted to the necessities of man, that it affords a 
strong argument in favour of their inspiration. 

The certainty of a future existence to man, is a 
prominent feature in the New Testament. The con- 
nexion between our present conduct and future con- 
dition is clearly and expressly inculcated. Many 
interesting and momentous truths connected with the 
world to come, are presented in a light the best cal- 
culated to make a deep and salutary impression on 
the mind. It is revealed, that there will be a general 
judgment of all men, and that God hath appointed a 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 201 

day when this event shall take place. It is moreover 
taught in the New Testament, that not only will 
every man be judged, but every action of every in- 
dividual, whether it be good or bad, will be brought 
under review; and the eternal destiny of all men will 
be fixed, agreeably to the judicial decision of this im- 
partial trial. Some will be admitted to everlasting 
life, in the world above, while others shall go away 
into everlasting misery, into that place " prepared for 
the devil and his angels." 

Another interesting fact revealed in the New Tes- 
tament is, that there will be a general resurrection of 
the bodies of all men, previously to the final judg- 
ment. This fact reason could never have conjec- 
tured ; it must, from its nature, be a matter of pure 
revelation. We may indeed discover some remote 
analogy to the resurrection, in the apparent death 
and resuscitation of vegetables and some animals; 
but this could never have authorized the conclusion, 
that the bodies of men, after being mingled with the 
dust of the earth, would be reorganized and re-ani- 
mated by the same souls which were connected with 
them before their death. This doctrine however 
is very interesting, and to the pious must be very 
pleasing and animating, as we may learn from the 
beautiful and striking description of the resurrec- 
tion given by Paul : — " It is sown in corruption, it 
is raised in incorruption; it is sown in weakness, it 
is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is 
raised a spiritual body; for this corruptible must 
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
immortality." 

It is worthy of remark that although the Scriptures 
express the joys of heaver, and the miseries of hell, 
by the strongest figures, they do not enter much into 
detail respecting the condition of men in the future 
world. There is true wisdom in this silence, be- 
cause it is a subject of which we are at present in- 
capable of forming any distinct conceptions. Paul, 
after being caught up to paradise and to the third 
heaven, gave no account of what he saw and heard, 



202 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

How different is this from the ridiculous description 
of the seven heavens, by Mohammed, and from the 
reveries of Emanuel Swedenborg. The account of a 
future state contained in the New Testament, is just 
that which is best suited to our present imperfect 
mode of conceiving, and at the same time adapted to 
make the deepest impressions on the minds of men. 

The method of obtaining the pardon of sin, which 
is made known in the Scriptures, is so extraordinary, 
and yet so perfectly calculated to reconcile the for- 
giveness of the sinner with the justice and holiness 
of God, that it can scarcely be a mere human device. 
The mission from heaven of a person called the Son 
of God ; his miraculous assumption of human nature ; 
his holy and benevolent character; and his laying 
down his life as an expiation for the sins of men, are 
indeed wonderful events, but on that account not 
likely to be the invention of impostors. The death 
of Christ may be considered the central point in the 
Christian system. This was so far from being an 
incidental thing, or an event occurring in the common 
course of nature, that it is every where represented 
to be the very purpose of Christ's coming into the 
world. This, according to the gospel, is the grand 
means of obtaining all blessings for sinners. It is the 
great vicarious sacrifice offered up to God in behalf 
of the people, in consequence of which God can be 
just and the justifier of all who believe in Jesus. To 
know Christ crucified, is to know the whole gospel ; 
to preach Christ crucified, is to preach the whole 
gospel ; for all its doctrines are involved in this event. 
The plan of salvation revealed in the Scriptures is 
founded on the principle of receiving satisfaction for 
the transgressions of the sinner, from another person 
who is able to render to the law all that is required 
from the offender. This satisfaction was made by 
the obedience of Christ unto death, and is accepted 
by the Judge of all in place of a perfect obedience of 
the sinner, in behalf of all those to whom it shall be 
applied. This method of obtaining pardon is hon- 
ourable to God, because while he receives the trans- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 203 

gressor into favour, he expresses his hatred of sin in 
the strongest manner, and requires that the demands 
of his holy law be perfectly fulfilled; and it is suited 
to man, for it comes down to his impotence and 
"wretchedness, and offers him a finished and gratuit- 
ous salvation, without works or merit of his own. 
And that there may be no room for an abuse of this 
doctrine of free grace, it is provided that all who 
hope for the benefits of this redemption shall yield a 
sincere obedience to the gospel, and thus evince 
their penitence for their sins, and their love to the 
Saviour. Ungodly men may pervert this doctrine 
and turn the grace of God into licentiousness, but 
this receives no encouragement from the principles 
of the gospel ; it is merely the effect of the perverse- 
ness of sinful men. 

This leads me to speak of the third thing impor- 
tant to be known by man, the means by which a 
depraved nature may be restored to rectitude, or 
thorough reformation of a sinner be effected. On 
this subject philosophy has never been able to shed 
any light. And this is not wonderful; for the most 
that human wisdom however perfect could effect, 
would be the direction and regulation of the natural 
principles and passions of men; but in this way no 
true reformation can be produced. Whatever changes 
are effected, will be only from one species of sin to 
another. In order to a radical restoration of the soul 
to moral rectitude, or to any degree of it, there is a 
necessity for the introduction into the mind of some 
new and powerful principle of action, sufficient to 
counteract or expel the principles of sin. It is in vain 
that men talk of producing a restoration to virtue by 
reason: the mere perception of the right way will 
answer no purpose, unless there is some inclination 
to pursue it. Now the want of virtuous affections, 
or to speak more correctly, of holy dispositions, is the 
great defect of our nature, in which our depravity 
radically consists; and the only way by which man 
can be led to love and pursue the course of obedi- 
ence to the law of God, is by having love to God 



204 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and to holiness excited or implanted in his soul. But 
to effect this, is not in the power of any creature; 
it is a work which requires a divine energy, a cre- 
ating power; and therefore a true conversion from 
the ways of sin was never effected without super- 
natural aid. There may be an external reformation. 
There may be, and often is, a change of governing 
principles. The man who in his youth was under 
the predominant influence of the love of pleasure, 
may in advanced years fall completely under the 
control of avarice or ambition; but in every such 
case, the change is effected by one active principle 
becoming so strong as to counteract or suppress an- 
other. It may be laid down as a universal maxim, 
that all changes of character are brought about by 
exciting, implanting, or strengthening, active princi- 
ples, sufficient to overcome those which before gov- 
erned the man. 

Now let us inquire what plan of reformation is 
proposed in the Scriptures. It is such a one as pre- 
cisely accords with the principles laid down. The 
necessity of regeneration by the power of God is 
taught in almost every variety of form, both in the 
Old and New Testaments. The effect of the divine 
energy on the soul is a new heart, or new princi- 
ples of moral action, the leading exercises of which 
are love to God and love to man. Let a philosophi- 
cal survey be taken of the nature of man, with his 
complete system of perceptions, passions, appetites, 
and affections; and then suppose this powerful and 
holy principle introduced into the soul ; all the facul- 
ties and propensities of man will be reduced to order, 
and the vices of our nature will be eradicated. Pre- 
tenders to reason and philosophy have often ridiculed 
this doctrine as absurd ; whereas it is in every respect 
consistent with the soundest philosophy. It is the 
very thing which a wise philosopher, who should 
undertake to solve the problem, how depraved man 
might be restored to virtue, would demand. But 
like the foundation which Archimedes required for 
his lever to raise the earth, the principle necessary 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 205 

for a sinner's reformation is one which reason and 
philosophy cannot furnish. The Bible is the only- 
book which ever taught the true method of purifying 
the soul from sin. A thousand ineffectual devices 
have been tried by philosophers and devotees of other 
systems. One of the most common has been to en- 
deavour to extricate the soul from the influence of 
the body, by various methods of mortification and 
purgation; but all these plans have adopted the false 
principle, that the body is the chief seat of depravity, 
and therefore they have ever proved unsuccessful. 
The disease lies deeper, and is further removed from 
the reach of their remedies than they supposed. It 
is the gospel which teaches the true philosophy res- 
pecting the seat of sin and its cure. Out of the heart 
proceed all evils, according to the Bible. And if we 
would make the fruit good, we must first make the 
tree good. This necessity of divine agency to make 
men truly virtuous, does not, however, supersede the 
use of means, or exclude the operation of rational 
motives. When a new principle is introduced into 
a rational mind, the soul in the exercise of this prin- 
ciple is governed by the same general laws of under- 
standing and choice as before. The principle of 
piety is pre-eminently a rational principle in its ope- 
ration. God is loved because he is now viewed to 
be a most excellent and amiable being. Heaven is 
preferred to earth, because it is seen to be a far better 
and more enduring inheritance ; and so of all other 
exercises. 

I am naturally led from the consideration of this 
subject to speak of the moral system of the New 
Testament. I confine my remarks here to the New 
Testament, not because it teaches a different rule of 
moral duty from the Old, but because it teaches it 
more clearly. I need say nothing in general com- 
mendation of the moral precepts of the gospel; they 
have extorted the highest praise from many of the 
most determined enemies of Christianity. No man 
has been able to show how they could be improved 
in any one point. It has sometimes, indeed, been 

18 



206 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

objected that this system was not suited to man, be- 
cause it requires a purity and perfection to which he 
can never attain; but the objection concedes the very 
point which we wish to establish — the absolute per- 
fection of the gospel system of morality. It surely 
requires no argument to prove that if God revealed 
a rule for the regulation of his creatures, it will be a 
perfect rule. It will never do to admit, that the law 
must be lowered in its demands to adapt it to the 
imperfection of creatures. This would be destructive 
of all law. 

It has again been objected, that in the precepts of 
the New Testament many splendid virtues acknow- 
ledged by the heathen moralists have been omitted. 
Patriotism, friendship, bravery, &c, have been spe- 
cified as belonging to this class. To which we reply, 
that so far as patriotism and friendship are moral vir- 
tues, they are included in the general precepts of the 
gospel, which require us to love our fellow men and 
do them good; and in those which command us to 
think of " whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
things are of good report;" but when the love of 
country and attachment to a friend interfere with the 
general obligation of loving all men, they are no 
longer virtues, but vices. 

The excellence of the moral system of the New 
Testament will be manifest if we consider, 

1. Its simple yet comprehensive character. All 
moral duties which can be conceived as obligatory, 
are here reduced to two grand principles, the love of 
God and the love of man. The measure of the first 
is the full extent of our capacity; of the second, the 
love which we have for ourselves. " On these two," 
says Christ, "hang all the law and the prophets." 
The duties which relate to temperance and self-gov- 
ernment, do not need any additional principle. If 
the soul be filled with love to man, self-love will be 
80 regulated and directed as to answer every purpose 
in moving us to perform what has been called our 
duty to ourselves. 

2. The precepts of morality, in the New Testa- 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 207 

ment, although sometimes expressed in comprehen- 
sive language, are often applied to the actual rela- 
tions and various conditions of men. We are not 
left to infer particular duties from general princi- 
ples, but the duties of individuals, according to their 
circumstances, are distinctly enjoined. Parents and 
children, husbands and wives, magistrates and sub- 
jects, masters and servants, ministers and people, the 
rich and the poor, the friend and the stranger, have 
all their respective duties clearly marked out. 

3. Moral duties which have been overlooked or 
misunderstood by other teachers, are here prominent- 
ly exhibited and solemnly inculcated. The virtues 
of humility, meekness, forbearance, and the forgive- 
ness of injuries, were not acknowledged by the hea- 
then moralists; but in the New Testament they are 
made to assume their proper place, and much of true 
goodness is made to consist in their exercise. At the 
time of the advent of Christ, many false principles of 
morality had gained currency.. The duty of loving 
all men had been circumscribed within narrow limits. 
Men charged with heresy, as the Samaritans, or no- 
torious sinners, as the publicans, were by the Jews 
considered as properly excluded from all participa- 
tion in their kindness or courtesy. The duty of sub- 
jection to a foreign power by which they had been 
conquered, and especially the duty of yielding obedi- 
ence to a wicked tyrannical prince, was one on which 
it required much wisdom to decide aright. The peo- 
ple were divided among themselves on this point; it 
was therefore selected by a combination of both par- 
ties as a fit subject to entangle our Lord, by obliging 
him to decide one way or the other, and thus expose 
himself to the opposition of one of the parties. But 
when they asked him whether it was lawful to give 
tribute unto Caesar or not, he called for a denarius, 
and looking at the image stamped upon it, asked 
whose it was; and upon being answered Caesar's, 
made the following remarkable reply: " Render unto 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the 
things that are God's." By which he decided that, 



208 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

inasmuch as they permitted the coin of Caesar to 
circulate among them, which was an evidence of his 
sovereignty over them, and availed themselves of 
this money for purposes of trade, there could be no 
impropriety in rendering to Caesar what properly 
belonged to him; and also that this was not incom- 
patible with their allegiance to God. So that virtu- 
ally in this answer, he reproved both the pharisees 
and the Herodians; the former of whom made their 
duty to God a pretext for refusing to pay tribute to 
the Emperor; and the latter, to secure the favour of 
the reigning powers, neglected their duty to God. 

Paul, living under the government of Nero, pre- 
scribes obedience to the existing powers, not from 
fear of suffering their displeasure, but for conscience 9 
sake. This is the general rule of duty on this diffi- 
cult subject, than which none can be wiser ; but it 
must not be considered as inculcating passive obedi- 
ence and non-resistance in all cases. Yet as long as 
a government has authority, so long we are bound 
to obey. Christianity is so constituted as not to inter- 
fere with any civil institution. It takes men as it 
finds them, in all the relations of life, and teaches 
them their duty. It never can therefore be the cause 
of sedition and opposition to existing governments. 
It considers all civil rulers as the ministers of God, 
for the peace and good order of society, and for the 
punishment of those that do evil. It is made the 
duty of Christians therefore to be " subject unto the 
higher powers, and not to resist the ordinance of 
God; to render to all their dues; tribute to whom 
tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom 
fear, honour to whom honour."* But when they, 
who have the right to change the government of a 
country exercise it, and put down one set of rulers 
and set up another, the principle of Christian duty 
remains the same. And if in any country Christians 
form a majority of the nation, there is no reason why 
they may not exercise this right of new-modelling 
their government, or changing their rulers, as well as 
others. 

* Rom. xiii. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 209 

4. The moral system of the New Testament traces 
all virtue to the heart, and sets no value on the most 
splendid and costly offerings, or the most punctilious 
discharge of religious duties when the motives are 
not pure. The first inclination of the mind to an 
illicit object is denounced to be a violation of the law; 
and words of reproach, and all idle words, are among 
the sins for which an account must be given in the 
judgment. Prayers and alms proceeding from vain 
glory are represented as receiving no reward from 
God, however they may be applauded by men. The 
love of this world, and the love of money, are re- 
presented as radical sins, from which many others 
proceed. Pride and revenge are exhibited as not 
only odious, but incompatible with the divine favour. 
Purity of heart and heavenly-mindedness, with trust 
in God and submission to his will, are in this system, 
cardinal virtues. 

5. The moral precepts of the New Testament were 
exemplified in the lives of the apostles and primitive 
Christians; but especially, and to the utmost perfec- 
tion, in the example of Jesus Christ. It is impossible 
to conceive a character more perfect than that given 
by the evangelists, of the founder of the Christian 
religion; and it has already been observed, that this 
character, embracing every variety of excellence, 
often exhibited in delicate and difficult circumstances, 
is delineated by a simple narrative of facts. There 
is no panegyric, no effort or art to excite admiration ; 
the writers merely inform us what Jesus said, did, 
and suffered. From this narrative we learn that he 
connected himself with no sect, and courted the 
favour of neither the rich nor the poor. He adopted 
none of the errors or prejudices of his nation; but by 
his discourses and his conduct showed that he acted 
from far higher views than national prejudices. The 
apparent sanctity of the Pharisees he denounced as 
hypocrisy; the traditions of the elders, as subversive 
of the law of God; the skeptical opinions of the Sad- 
ducees, as proceeding from ignorance of the true 
meaning of the Scriptures. 

IS* 



210 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Jesus Christ continually turned the attention of his 
hearers from earthly to heavenly things, as alone 
worthy of their attention and pursuits. Although he 
flattered no class of men, his attention was particu- 
larly directed to the poor ; their spiritual necessities 
and their bodily afflictions excited his most tender 
compassion; and to them he addressed many kind 
and encouraging declarations. But his healing power 
was exerted in behalf of all applicants, rich and 
poor; and without regard to their sect or nation. 
Jews, Samaritans, heathens, publicans, and sinners, 
were the objects of his compassion. He was not 
deterred by the proud prejudices of the Scribes and 
Pharisees from associating with penitents, however 
vile and infamous they had before been. He gra- 
ciously received returning sinners, and comforted 
them with the assurance of pardon, and permitted 
them to manifest their grateful affection to his person, 
by the most expressive signs and actions. He mani- 
fested the kindest sympathy with his friends in their 
afflictions, weeping with those that wept, and often 
exerting his omnipotence in raising their dear rela- 
tions from the bed of sickness or from death. And 
although he often uttered severe rebukes against the 
incorrigibly wicked, and was sometimes grieved and 
angry with them, yet his compassion towards them 
never failed; and even when their day of grace was 
ended, he wept over them with the most affecting 
tenderness. 

Jesus Christ was often "brought into conflict with 
insidious, malignant, and learned adversaries. They 
attacked him with deliberate craft, and proposed to 
him questions on delicate and difficult subjects, to 
which he was required to return an immediate an- 
swer; but in no case of this sort was he ever con- 
founded, or even puzzled by the cunning craftiness 
of his enemies. His answers were so appropriate 
and so fraught with wisdom, that his adversaries 
were commonly confounded and the audience filled 
with admiration. 

The parables of Christ are unparalleled for beauty 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 211 

and force, in the species of composition to which they 
belong. But this is the smallest part of their excel- 
lence. They contain so much important truth, and 
so happily adapted to the subject and the occasion, 
that the persons intended to be reproved by them 
were often constrained to give judgment against 
themselves. In these discourses, the leading doc- 
trines of the gospel are exhibited in a beautiful dress 
of allegory, which rivets the attention and greatly 
aids us in understanding the fulness and freeness of 
the grace of the gospel. They are also prophetical 
of the rejection of the Jews and of the calling of 
the Gentiles; of the various reception of the gospel 
by different classes of hearers; of the mixture of 
sincere and unsound Christians in the Church; of the 
cruel persecutions which the followers of Christ 
should endure; and of the final overthrow and de- 
struction of Tiis enemies. 

Jesus Christ spake, in all his discourses, as never 
man spake. He removed the false glosses which 
had been put on the law, and set its precepts in 
their proper light. He mingled the dogmas of no 
philosophical system with his instructions. He en- 
tered into no metaphysical and abstruse disquisitions, 
but taught the truth with simplicity and authority. 

His zeal for the honour of God and for the purity 
and sanctity of his worship, and his dislike of all 
human inventions and will-worship, are manifest in 
all his conduct. A spirit of fervent and elevated 
devotion was a remarkable characteristic of Jesus 
of Nazareth. Whole nights he spent in prayer; 
and before day he would retire for the purposes of 
devotion. He was in the habit of praying and giv- 
ing thanks on all occasions; but his devotion was 
free from all tincture of superstition or enthusiasm. 
He taught that not the words, but the heart, not the 
length of prayers, but their spirit was regarded. 

His benevolence, meekness, and laborious dili- 
gence, in promoting the welfare of men, were mani- 
fested every day of his life. But in his acts of mercy, 
and in his most extraordinary miracles, there was no 



212 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

appearance of parade or ostentation. He went about 
doing good, but he sought no glory from men. He 
was humble, retired, and contented with the lowest 
state of poverty. When the people applauded him, 
he withdrew to some other place. When they would 
have made him a king, he escaped from their hands. 
When they asked curious questions, he directed them 
to something important. When they uttered un- 
meaning expressions of praise, he took occasion to 
announce some important truth or deliver some in- 
teresting discourse. 

In nothing did he discover more profound wisdom, 
than in declining to interfere in any case with tempo- 
ral concerns, and disputes about earthly possessions. 
He showed by his conduct, what he solemnly declar- 
ed on his trial, that "his kingdom was not of this 
world." 

In his intercourse with his disciples, we observe a 
sweet mixture of dignity and gentleness, of faithful- 
ness and humble condescension to their weakness 
and prejudices. No wonder that they should love 
such a Master. His last discourses with them before 
his passion, and the remarkable prayer offered on 
their behalf, for affectionate tenderness and the sweet 
spirit of consolation which pervade them, are alto- 
gether inimitable. How flat and unsatisfactory are 
the conversations of Socrates with his friends, when 
compared with those of Christ recorded in the four- 
teenth, fifteenth and sixteeth chapters of the gospel 
of St. John. Indeed it would be impossible to refer 
to any discourses, in any language, which could bear 
a comparison with this valedictory of Christ: and to 
enhance our admiration of the pure benevolence of 
the author, he was aware that his own sufferings 
were near and would be most cruel and ignominious; 
and yet his attention is turned to the case of his sor- 
rowful disciples, and all that he says has relation to 
them. The institution of the Eucharistical Sup- 
per, intended to be commemorative of his death, was 
attended with circumstances which exhibit the char- 
acter of Jesus in a very peculiar and interesting light. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 213 

This scene will be best understood by a perusal of 
the simple and affecting narrative of the evangelists. 
The last thing in the character of Christ, which I 
shall bring into view at this time, is the patience and 
fortitude with which he endured sufferings intense 
and overwhelming beyond conception. There is 
something mysterious in this whole affair. The in- 
tense agonies which Jesus suffered, seem to ha,ve had 
no connexion with external circumstances. When 
he was betrayed, deserted, and arrested, he discover- 
ed no signs of fear or perturbation. He gave him- 
self up, and submitted with unruffled composure to 
every species of contumely and insult. While his 
trial was going on before the Sanhedrim, and before 
Pilate, he maintained, for the most part, a dignified 
silence, uttering no reproaches or complaints; not 
even speaking in his own defence. When particu- 
larly interrogated by the judges, he answered direct- 
ly to the questions proposed, and avowed himself to 
be the Messiah, the Son of God, and the King of 
Israel. Under the mockery and insult which were 
heaped upon him, he remained perfectly composed, 
and uttered not a word indicative of impatience or 
resentment. " As a sheep before her shearers is 
dumb, so he opened not his mouth." When he 
was bewailed by the daughters of Jerusalem, as he 
ascended the hill of Calvary, bearing his cross, he 
requested them not to weep for him, but for them- 
selves and their children, on account of the calamities 
that were coming on that devoted city. While sus- 
pended on the cross, he saw his beloved mother among 
the spectators, and knowing that she would need a 
friend and protector, he recommended her to the care 
of the disciple he most tenderly loved. Although no 
compassion was mingled with the vindictive feelings 
with which he was persecuted, he set a glorious ex- 
ample of that most difficult duty, love to enemies. 
As says the apostle Peter, " Because Christ also suf- 
fered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should 
follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth ; who, when he was reviled, 



214 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened 
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth right- 
eously." Among his last words, before he expired, 
was a prayer for those that were then engaged in 
crucifying him ; " Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." A penitent thief, who was 
crucified with him, implored his blessing and remem- 
brance, when he should come to the possession of 
his kingdom; he replied, "This day shalt thou be 
with me in Paradise." And finally, he said, "Father, 
into thy hands I commit my spirit," and bowed his 
head and died. 

The moral excellence of the character of Christ is 
very remarkable, as uniting, in perfection, qualities 
which among men are considered almost incompati- 
ble. He exhibited a complete indifference to the 
possessions and glory of the world and a devout and 
heavenly temper, without the least mixture of aus- 
terity. He combined uniform dignity with humility 
and condescension; manifested strong indignation 
against all manner of sin and against impenitent 
sinners, but the most affectionate tenderness towards 
every humble penitent. He united the spirit of ele- 
vated devotion with a life of activity and incessant 
exertion. While he held free intercourse with men 
of all classes, he adopted the prejudices and spared 
the vices of none. On this subject, I will quote a 
passage from an excellent discourse of Dr. Channing, 
before referred to: "I will only observe," says the 
eloquent author, speaking of the character of Christ, 
" that it had one distinction, which, more than any 
thing, forms a perfect character. It was made up of 
contrasts: in other words it was a union of excellen- 
cies which are not easily reconciled, which seem at 
first sight incongruous, but which, when blended and 
duly proportioned, constitute moral harmony, and 
attract with equal power, love, and veneration. For 
example, we discover in Jesus Christ an unparalleled 
dignity of character, a consciousness of greatness, 
never discovered or approached by any other indi- 
vidual in history; and yet this was blended with 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 215 

a condescension, loveliness, and unostentatious sim- 
plicity, which had never before been thought consis- 
tent with greatness. In like manner, he united an 
utter superiority to the world, to its pleasures and 
ordinary interests, with suavity of manners, and free- 
dom from austerity. He joined to strong feeling and 
self-possession, an indignant sensibility to sin, and 
compassion to the sinner ; an intense devotion to his 
work, and calmness under opposition and ill success ; 
a universal philanthropy, and a susceptibility of 
private attachments; the authority which became the 
Saviour of the world, and the tenderness and grati- 
tude of a son." 

The salutary effects of Christianity on communities 
and individuals open a wide field for important re- 
marks. It is a subject which we have not time to 
pursue, yet we must not pass it over in entire silence. 
The argument from this topic may however be redu- 
ced to a point. Take a survey of the whole world, 
at this time, and let an impartial judgment be formed 
of the condition of all the nations; and let the ques- 
tion be answered, whether Christian nations are in a 
less favourable or more favourable condition than 
others. And again, whether among Christians, those 
nations who have the free use of the Bible, and are 
carefully instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, 
are in a better or worse condition than those to whom 
the Scriptures are interdicted, and who are permitted 
to remain in ignorance of the religion which they 
profess? The answers of these questions are so ob- 
vious, that I cannot but presume, that all readers 
will be of the same mind. It may then be asked, 
would a vile imposture be the means of meliorating 
the condition of the world, and prove salutary in 
proportion as it is known and obeyed? " I speak as 
unto wise men, judge ye what I say." 

We have moreover seen, in our own time, the 
wonderful effects of the gospel, in civilizing some of 
the most barbarous people on the face of the earth. 
Men who seemed to be sunk to a level with the 
beasts, have been reclaimed, enlightened, and exalt- 



216 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ed, to a participation of the blessings of civilized 
life, their ferocious temper being completely subdued 
and softened. Look at Greenland, at Africa, at the 
islands of the Pacific ; and nearer home, at the Che- 
rokees, Choctaws, and other Indian tribes, and see 
what the gospel can effect. I know not what infi- 
dels think of these things, but for my own part, I 
should not esteem one coming from the dead, or a 
voice of thunder from heaven, so undoubted an evi- 
dence of the truth of the gospel, as these effects. 
Will a series of falsehoods produce such effects as 
these ? 

I know that it has been objected, that Christianity 
has been the cause of many bloody wars and cruel 
persecutions ; but this is impossible. That religion 
which breathes nothing but benevolence and peace, 
and which requires its disciples not to resist evil, but 
freely to forgive their most malignant enemies, can 
never be the cause of war and persecution. It may 
indeed be the occasion, and no doubt has been made 
the occasion of such evils ; but it would be absurd 
to attribute to Christianity the evils of which it has 
been the occasion, when its own spirit is in direct 
opposition to those evils. As well might we charge 
civil government with all the wars and tumults 
which it has occasioned. As reasonably might we 
accuse liberty, as being the cause of all the atrocities 
of the French revolution. The wickedness of man 
is the cause of these evils ; and the most excellent 
things in the universe, may be made the occasion 
of exciting it, or calling it into exercise. Christ fore- 
told that his religion would be an occasion of family 
discord ; and to express the certainty of the event 
predicted, he said, "Think not that I am come to 
send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but 
a sword ; " which some superficial readers have 
strangely misconstrued, as though he had signified 
that it was the tendency of his religion to produce 
strife among friends. No man can remain in error 
on this subject who will take the pains to read the 
New Testament. And I will venture to predict, or 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 217 

rather to repeat what is already predicted, that as 
soon as the world shall sincerely embrace the Chris- 
tian religion, wars will cease to the ends of the earth. 
Then shall men beat their swords into plough-shares 
and their spears into pruning-hooks, and learn war 
no more. 

But the salutary effects of the gospel on those indi- 
viduals who cordially embrace it, furnish the most 
manifest proof of its divinity. How often, by the 
secret powerful influence of the truths of the Bible, 
have the proud been humbled; the impure rendered 
chaste; the unjust honest; the cruel and revengeful, 
meek and forgiving; the drunkard, temperate; the 
profane, reverent; and the false swearer and liar, 
conscientious in declaring nothing but the truth. Un- 
der the influence of what other system are such salu- 
tary changes effected? Will it be said that many 
who profess to experience such a change prove 
themselves to be hypocrites? Admitted; but does 
this evince that they who give evidence of sincerity 
by the most incontestable proofs, all their lives, are 
also hypocrites? All men wish to be thought hon- 
est; but if many are discovered to be knaves, does 
this prove that there is not an honest man in the 
world ? 

However this argument may affect those who have 
had no experience of the power of the gospel, it will 
have great weight with all who have, by means of 
the truth, been converted from the error of their 
ways. There are thousands who can attest that they 
have experienced the salutary efficacy of the Bible, 
in turning them away from their iniquities and en- 
kindling within them the love of G od and of virtue. 
They cannot but believe that the Christian religion 
is from God, and are persuaded that no imposture 
could so elevate and sanctify the mind, that no 
human device could possess such a power over the 
conscience and the heart, as they have experienced 
from the Scriptures. These persons, therefore, may 
truly be said to have the witness of the truth in them- 
selves. 

19 



218 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

But there is an efficacy in the truths of the Bible, 
not only to guide and sanctify, but also to afford con- 
solation to the afflicted in body or mind. The gospel 
brings peace into every bosom where it is cordially 
received. When the conscience is pierced with the 
stings of guilt, and the soul writhes under a wound 
which no human medicine can heal, the promises of 
the gospel are like the balm of Gilead, a sovereign 
cure for this intolerable and deeply-seated malady. 
Under its cheering influence, the broken spirit is 
healed and the burden of despair is removed far 
away. The gospel, like an angel of mercy, can bring 
consolation into the darkest scenes of adversity; it 
can penetrate the dungeon, and sooth the sorrows of 
the penitent in his chains, and on his bed of straw. 
It has power to give courage to the heart, and to 
brighten the countenance of the man who meets 
death on the scaffold or on the gibbet, if its precious 
invitations to the chief of sinners be sincerely em- 
braced. It mitigates the sorrows of the bereaved, 
and wipes away the bitter tears occasioned by the 
painful separation of affectionate friends and rela- 
tives. By the bright prospects which it opens, and 
the lively hopes which it inspires, the darkness of the 
tomb is illumined; so that Christians are enabled, in 
faith of the resurrection of the body, to commit the 
remains of their dearest friends to the secure sepul- 
chre, in confident hope that after a short sleep they 
will awake to life everlasting. 

The cottages of the poor are often blessed with the 
consolation of the gospel, which is peculiarly adapted 
to the children of affliction and poverty. It was one 
of the signs of Jesus being the true Messiah, " that 
the poor had the gospel preached unto them." Here 
it produces contentment, resignation, mutual kind- 
ness, and the longing after immortality. The aged 
and infirm, who, by the gradual failure of their fac- 
ulties, or by disease and decrepitude are shut out 
from the business and enjoyments of this world, may 
find in the word of God a fountain of consolation. 
They may, while imbued with its celestial spirit, look 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 219 

upon the world without the least regret for its loss, 
and may rejoice in the prospect before them, with a 
joy unspeakable and full of glory. The gospel can 
render tolerable even the yoke of slavery and the 
chains of the oppressor. How often is the pious 
slave, through the blessed influence of the word of 
God, a thousand times happier than his master ! He 
cares not for the short deprivation of liberty; he 
knows and feels that he is " Christ's freeman/' and 
believes " that all things work together for his good," 
and that " these light afflictions which are for a mo- 
ment, will work out for him a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory!" Nay, this glorious 
gospel is an antidote to death itself. He that does 
the sayings of Christ shall never taste of death; that 
is, of death as a curse : he shall never feel the enven- 
omed sting of death. How often does it overspread 
the spirit of the departing saint with serenity ! How 
often does it elevate, and fill with celestial joy, the 
soul which is just leaving the earthly house of this 
tabernacle ! It actually renders, in many instances, 
the bed of the dying a place of sweet repose. No ter- 
rors hover over them; no anxious care corrodes their 
spirit; no burden oppresses their heart, xlll is light ; 
all is hope and assurance ; all is joy and triumph. 

The question to be decided is, whether a book 
which is replete with such sublime and correct views 
of theology; which exhibits the true history and 
true character of man, without flattery, distortion, or 
exaggeration; which possesses such an astonishing 
power of penetrating the human heart and affecting 
the conscience; which gives us information on the 
very points with which it is most important we 
should be acquainted; which opens to us the future 
world, and shows us how Ave may attain its felicity 
and glory ; which exhibits a perfect system of moral 
duty adapted to our nature and circumstances, and 
free from all the defects of other systems of morality; 
forbidding nothing which is innocent, and requiring 
nothing which is not reasonable and virtuous; which 
reduces all duty to a few general principles, and yet 



220 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

illustrates the application of these principles by a 
multitude of particular precepts, addressed to persons 
in every relation of life, and exemplifies them by 
setting before us the lives of holy men, who are por- 
trayed according to truth with such imperfections as 
experience teaches us belong to the best men ; which 
delineates the character of Jesus Christ, the founder 
of Christianity, with such a perfection of moral excel- 
lency, by simply relating his words, actions, and suf- 
ferings, that nothing can be taken from it, or added 
to it, without detracting from its worth ; and finally, 
which contains the true sources of consolation for 
every species of human suffering, and comfort in 
death itself: — whether such a book is the production 
of vile impostors, and those impostors uneducated 
fishermen. Would such men have fallen into no 
palpable blunders in theology or morality? Could 
they have preserved so beautiful a harmony and 
consistency between all the parts? Could they 
have exhibited such a character as that of Jesus 
Christ? and while they introduce him acting and 
speaking so often, and in circumstances so peculiar 
and difficult, never ascribe to him any error or 
weakness, in word or deed ? Would impostors have 
denounced all manner of falsehood and deceit, as is 
done in the New Testament ? Would they have in- 
sisted so much on holiness, even in the thoughts and 
purposes of the heart ? Could they have so perfectly 
adapted their forgery to the constitution of the human 
mind and to the circumstances of men? Is it proba- 
ble that they would have possessed the wisdom to 
avoid all the prejudices of their nation, and all 
connexion with existing sects and civil institutions? 
And finally, could they have provided so effectually 
for the consolation of the afflicted? What man now 
upon earth could compose even the discourses, said 
by the evangelists to have been spoken by Jesus 
Christ? 

If any man can bring himself, after an impartial 
examination of the Scriptures, to believe that they 
were written by unprincipled impostors, then he 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 221 

may believe that an untutored savage might con- 
struct a ship of the line; that a child might have 
written the Iliad, or Paradise Lost; or even that 
the starry firmament was the work of mere creatures. 
No : it cannot be that this is a forgery. No man or 
set of men ever had sufficient talents and knowledge 
to forge such a book as the Bible. It evidently trans- 
cends all human effort. It has upon its face the im- 
press of divinity. It shines with a light, which by 
its clearness and its splendour, shows itself to be 
celestial. It possesses the energy and penetrating in- 
fluence which bespeak the omnipotence and omni- 
science of its author. It has the effect of enlighten- 
ing, elevating, purifying, directing, and comforting 
all those who cordially receive it. Surely then it is 
the word of God, and we hold it fast as the best 
blessing which God has vouchsafed to man. 

precious gospel ! Will any merciless hand 
endeavour to tear away from our hearts this best, 
this last, and sweetest consolation ? Would you 
darken the only avenue through which one ray of 
hope can enter? Would you tear from the aged 
and infirm poor the only prop on which their souls 
can repose in peace ? Would you deprive the dying 
of their only source of consolation ? Would you rob 
the world of its richest treasure? Would you let 
loose the flood-gates of every vice, and bring back 
upon the earth the horrors of superstition or the 
atrocities of atheism? Then endeavour to subvert 
the gospel; throw around you the fire-brands of 
infidelity; laugh at religion, and make a mock of 
futurity; but be assured that for all these things God 
will bring you into judgment. But I will not be- 
lieve that any who reflect on what has been said, in 
these pages, will ever cherish a thought so diaboli- 
cal. I will persuade myself that a regard for the 
welfare of their country, if no higher motive, will 
induce them to respect the Christian religion. And 
every pious heart will say, rather let the light 

OF THE SUN BE EXTINGUISHED THAN THE PRECIOUS 
LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. 

19* 



222 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT WERE WRITTEN BY 
THE INSPIRATION OF GOD ; AND THIS INSPIRATION, HOWEVER IT MAY 
BE DISTINGUISHED, WAS PLENARY J THAT IS, THE WRITERS WERE UN- 
DER AN INFALLIBLE GUIDANCE, BOTH AS TO IDEAS AND WORDS : AND 
YET THE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, HABITS, AND PECULIAR DISPOSITIONS 
OF THE WRITERS, WERE NOT SUPERSEDED. 

Having endeavoured to establish the authenticity 
of the Scriptures, I come now to say something re- 
specting the inspiration of the writers of the several 
books. These two subjects are, it is true, involved 
in each other; and many of the arguments for the 
former are conclusive in favour of the latter; but 
still there is a distinction which it is important to 
observe. A book may be authentic, without having 
the least claim to inspiration, as are all true narra- 
tives of facts, written by men of veracity in the exer- 
cise of their unassisted powers. The gospel history 
may be established on the common principles of 
human testimony, in the same manner as any other 
history. Indeed, this must be done, in the order of 
proof, before any convincing argument can be formed 
in favour of divine revelation. Accordingly, all ju- 
dicious writers on the Evidences of Christianity first 
attempt to establish the facts recorded in the Gospels, 
by an appeal to mere human testimony. This dis- 
tinction is so clear, and practically so important, that 
many persons believe in the facts — miracles as well 
as others — and yet have no conviction that the his- 
tory of these events was written by divine inspira- 
tion. This is understood to be the case hi regard to 
most of those called Unitarians. Dr. Priestley, in 
his "Institutes of the Christian Religion/' has estab- 
lished the authenticity of the facts recorded by the 
evangelists with great force of reasoning; and yet 
in the same work, he utterly denies the plenary in 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 223 

spiration of these writers; but alleges that they were 
men of veracity, and that their testimony should be 
received, just as we receive that of other credible 
historians, but without ascribing infallibility to them. 
The same opinions have been maintained by many 
others. The authenticity of the facts is sufficient to 
demonstrate that the Christian religion is of divine 
origin; but it does not follow, as a matter of course, 
that the historian who gives an account of the facts 
on which it rests was inspired. This is a distinct 
inquiry, and although not so vitally important as the 
former, is of great moment, and deserves a serious 
and impartial consideration. 

It may be proper also in this place to distinguish be- 
tween inspiration and that illumination which every 
true Christian must receive, and which is the founda- 
tion of that saving faith which is produced in the 
mind by the operation of the Holy Spirit. The dis- 
tinction is, that the object of inspiration is common- 
ly to reveal some new truths, or more clearly to 
reveal such as were before but obscurely revealed ; 
or it is intended to direct the mind, in a supernatural 
way, to write and speak certain things, and so super- 
intends or strengthens its faculties, that it is enabled 
to communicate, with unerring certainty, truths be- 
fore unknown; or to form ideas and adopt expres- 
sions so sublime, as to be above the range of the 
natural powers of the person. The illumination 
of the Holy Spirit communicates no new truths, but 
enables the soul spiritually to apprehend truths, al- 
ready revealed. Here then is the grand distinction 
between those spiritual influences which all Chris- 
tians enjoy, and enthusiasm which claims something 
of the nature of inspiration. The sober Christian 
can appeal to the word of God, as containing all the 
ideas by which his mind is affected, in its highest 
elevations of joy and love; but the enthusiast departs 
from the written word, and trusts to impulses, im- 
pressions on the imagination, immediate suggestions, 
dreams or supposed visions. If these impulses or 
suggestions were from the Spirit of God, they would 



224 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

be strictly of the nature of inspiration. And, accord- 
ingly, most fanatics believe themselves to be inspir- 
ed; but however strong their persuasion, we are not 
bound to believe in their pretensions, unless they 
can exhibit those external proofs, by which God is 
pleased to attest such communications as he makes 
to men. 

There is also a difference between inspiration and 
revelation. All revelations are not made by a sug- 
gestion of truth to the mind of an individual. God 
often spake to people of old by audible voices, and 
communicated his will by the mission of angels. 
Many persons have thus received divine revelations, 
who had no pretensions to inspiration. All the peo- 
ple of Israel who stood before God at Mount Sinai, 
heard his voice uttering the ten commandments, and 
yet no one would say that all these were inspired. 
So also when Christ was upon earth, in more instan- 
ces than one, a voice was heard declaring that he 
was the beloved Son of God. Indeed, all who had 
the opportunity of hearing Christ's discourses might 
be said to receive a revelation immediately from God ; 
but it would be absurd to say that all these were 
inspired. Dr. Dick is of opinion, that the word reve- 
lation would be more expressive, as being more 
comprehensive, than suggestion, which last conveys 
the idea of an operation on the mind ; whereas, truth, 
in many cases, was made known in other ways. But 
for the reason stated above, it would not do to substi- 
tute the word revelation for inspiration; inasmuch 
as multitudes received revelations who had no claim 
to inspiration. And when inspiration is confined to 
those who wrote the books of Scripture, no other 
word would so clearly express the idea. 

Inspiration has by theologians been distinguished 
into three kinds; that of superintendence, of sugges- 
tion, and of elevation. The first of these takes place, 
when an historian is influenced by the Holy Spirit to 
write, and in writing is so directed as to select those 
facts and circumstances which will answer the end 
proposed; and so assisted and strengthened in the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 225 

narrative of events, as to be preserved from all error 
and mistake. The facts need not be revealed, because 
they may be well known to the writer from his own 
observation, and may be deeply impressed on his 
memory ; but no man can avoid inaccuracies and 
mistakes in a narrative of facts, long past. If it is 
important that such a narrative be exempt from error, 
the writer must be inspired. But as the chief object 
of inspiration is to communicate truths before un- 
known, the inspiration of suggestion is requisite in all 
such cases ; as when the prophets were inspired to 
predict the revolutions of empires, or to communicate 
a message from God to a whole people, or to an 
individual, the ideas must of course have been imme- 
diately suggested by the Holy Spirit. The third spe- 
cies of inspiration takes place, when, by a divine 
influence, persons are enabled to bring forth produc- 
tions, in speaking or writing, far more sublime and 
excellent than they could have attained by the exer- 
cise of their own faculties. Thus women, under the 
inspiration of God, have instantly uttered, in elevated 
strains of poetry, discourses in praise of God, which, 
by their unassisted powers, they could never have 
produced. In these compositions, there may be no 
revelation of truth; nor is there a mere superintend- 
ence of the human faculties, as in the first case was 
described; but the powers of the mind are, for the 
occasion, wonderfully elevated above their common 
level, so that the conceptions are more vivid and sub- 
lime, and expressed in language more appropriate 
and striking, than would have naturally occurred to 
them. By an inspiration of this sort David wrote 
the Psalms, and Solomon the Proverbs, and the 
speakers, in the book of Job, the sublime discourses 
which are there recorded. Many things of this kind 
are also found in the writings of the prophets. 

Here another question of some perplexity demands 
our attention. It is, whether the words of Scripture, 
as well as the ideas, were given by inspiration. On 
the one hand it is alleged, that there is no necessity 
for supposing that the words used in communicating 



226 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

revealed truth should be suggested by the Holy 
Spirit ; and that the fact proves that no such inspira- 
tion existed, because the style of each of the writers 
is peculiar, and accords precisely with his education, 
disposition, and turn of mind. But on the other 
hand it is argued, that unless the words were inspir- 
ed as well as the ideas, we cannot be certain that 
the writer has, in any case, communicated accurate- 
ly the mind of the Spirit ; for men are liable to mis- 
take in the selection of appropriate words, as much 
as in any thing else ; and as men often fail in con- 
veying their own ideas in language which correctly 
expresses their meaning, they might make similar 
mistakes in the use of language to express ideas re- 
ceived by inspiration, if in this matter they were left 
to the guidance of their own minds. It has also been 
plausibly urged in favour of inspiration extending to 
the words, that we can scarcely conceive of a revela- 
tion of truths to the mind, without supposing that 
they were clothed in language. We cannot even 
think distinctly, much less reason conclusively, on 
any subject, without the intervention of words. 

It is probable, that in this controversy as in many 
others, both parties are right; or rather, that the 
truth will be fully possessed by adopting the views 
entertained on both sides, and endeavouring to re- 
concile them. The same principles which apply to 
the ideas may, without any alteration, be applied to 
the words. When the truths revealed were before 
unknown to the inspired person; and especially — as 
seems often to have been the case with the prophets 
— when they did not fully comprehend the import 
of what was revealed, it is necessary to suppose that 
the words, as well as ideas, were immediately sug- 
gested by the Holy Spirit. This was remarkably 
the case, when the apostles and others received the 
gift of tongues; which was nothing else but the in- 
spiration of words, as they were needed, for the com- 
munication of the truths of the gospel. 

But as in the narration of well-known facts, the 
writer did not need a continual suggestion of every 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 227 

idea, but only to be so superintended, as to be pre- 
served from error; so in the use of language in re- 
cording such familiar things, there existed no neces- 
sity that every word should be inspired; but there 
was the same need of a directing and superintending 
influence, as in regard to the things themselves. 
Here, then, we see that the language of the sacred 
writers might be preserved from impropriety and 
inaccuracy, and yet all the characteristics of style 
peculiar to each writer be retained. Just as if a 
master should so guide the hand of a child in writing, 
that the pen should be actually moved by the pupil, 
but governed and directed by the master, so as not 
to transgress the limits prescribed. Or this superin- 
tendence, both as to ideas and words, may be illus- 
trated by the case of a father conducting a child along 
a narrow path. The child walks by its own activity, 
and takes steps according to its ability; but the father 
preserves it from falling, and keeps it in the straight 
path. Just so it is with men when under the super- 
intending influence of the Holy Spirit. Their own 
powers of understanding, memory and invention are 
not superseded, but only directed, and preserved from 
inaccuracy and error; but the man pursues his own 
peculiar method of thinking, reasoning, and expres- 
sion. He speaks or writes in the language which he 
has learned, and uses that idiom and style which 
have become habitual; so that inspired men will, 
according to this theory, retain their peculiarity of 
style and expression just as fully, as if they were 
writing or speaking without inspiration. 

Some object to this theory of superintendence, un- 
der the impression that it is less perfect, than if every 
thing were inspired by direct suggestion of the Holy 
Spirit. But there is really no foundation for this 
objection. It certainly is a matter of no consequence 
how our knowledge is obtained, if it is only rendered 
infallibly certain. There are many things concern- 
ing which we could not acquire a greater degree of 
assurance than we already possess, by inspiration of 
any kind: and such knowledge acquired by the exer- 



228 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

cise of reason or intuition, is not the less valuable 
because it has been obtained in a natural way. In- 
deed, these natural faculties, by which we are so 
constituted as to be capable of certain knowledge of 
the first principles of truth, are the gift of God as 
much as any inspiration can be : and the clear intui- 
tive knowledge which we possess of certain truths, 
may be considered as a sort of permanent inspiration. 
Suppose a man by a constant plenary inspiration to 
be made absolutely sure of the truth of certain pro 
positions, so that he could not entertain any doubt 
respecting them, in what respect would there be any 
difference between this and the intuitive perception 
of self-evident principles, which every rational man 
by nature possesses? There would then be nothing 
gained by the inspiration of direct suggestion, in 
regard to our knowledge of those things of which we 
already possess intuitive certainty. It is also evident, 
that in relation to all our knowledge acquired by 
experience or testimony, we only need such an influ- 
ence as will enable us to communicate what ought 
to be recorded for the benefit of the church, and to 
do this without error, either as to matter or manner. 
Some, who do not deny the inspiration of the 
sacred writers, in general, have thought it necessary 
to make concessions on this subject which are not 
called for from the nature of the case, and have thus 
involved the cause which they defend in real difficul- 
ties. They have granted that, while, in all matters 
of real importance, the penmen of the Scriptures 
were guided by a plenary inspiration, they were left 
to their own unassisted powers in trivial matters, and 
the relation of unimportant circumstances; and in 
such matters have, therefore, fallen into mistakes in 
regard to trivial circumstances. No evil or inconve- 
nience would result from this hypothesis, if the line 
could be definitely drawn between the parts of the 
book written by inspiration and those in which the 
writers were left to themselves. But as no human 
wisdom is sufficient to draw this line, the effect of 
this opinion is to introduce uncertainty and doubt in 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 229 

a matter concerning which assurance is of the utmost 
importance. And it is in itself an improbable suppo- 
sition, that the Spirit of God should infallibly guide 
a writer in some parts of his discourse, and forsake 
him in other parts. If we find a witness mistaken 
in some particulars, it weakens our confidence in his 
general testimony. And could it be shown that the 
evangelists had fallen into palpable mistakes in facts 
of minor importance, it would be impossible to de- 
monstrate that they wrote any thing by inspiration. 

The case of Paul is often adduced to prove that a 
writer who, for the most part, was inspired, may in 
particular cases be left to follow his own opinions.* 
If the meaning here ascribed to this apostle, and 
which is perhaps the most obvious, should be admit- 
ted, it would not authorize the opinion which we are 
now opposing. It would only follow that, in these 
few excepted cases, Paul was not inspired; which 
would leave us to enjoy full confidence in what he 
says in all other cases, as being spoken by divine 
inspiration. But it may well be doubted whether 
this was the true meaning of the apostle. It is much 
more probable, that all he intended to teach was, 
that our Lord Jesus Christ had delivered no opinion 
on the point which he was treating; but that he, by 
the aid of the Spirit which was in him, expressed an 
opinion which he evidently intended should be autho- 
ritative. And he plainly intimates that he spoke by 
inspiration, when he says, "And I think also that 1 
have the Spirit of God." The import of this decla- 
ration, according to the usage of the New Testament, 
is, that Paul was persuaded that he was inspired in 
uttering the sentiments which he did. The words 
"I think," should not be interpreted as indicating 
any doubt or uncertainty, for that is not at all the 
meaning of the original; but as being the expression 
of the conviction of his own mind. There is, there- 
fore, no need to suppose that Paul intended to inti- 
mate that he wrote any thing without the aid of di- 
vine inspiration. It would be strange indeed, if he, 
* See 1 Cor. vii. 12—40. I 
20 



230 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

who was inspired to all other purposes, had been left 
to himself in this one instance, as this is not to be 
reckoned among the least important matters which 
have fallen from his pen. 

The true definition of inspiration, then, is, such a 

DIVINE INFLUENCE UPON THE MINDS OF THE SACRED 
WRITERS AS RENDERED THEM EXEMPT FROM ERROR, 
BOTH IN REGARD TO THE IDEAS AND WORDS. 

This is properly called plenary inspiration. No- 
thing can be conceived more satisfactory. Certainty, 
infallible certainty, is the utmost that can be desired 
in any narrative; and if we have this in the sacred 
Scriptures, there is nothing more to be wished in 
regard to this matter. 

That the Scriptures of the Old Testament were 
appealed to, and constantly spoken of as inspired, 
and free from error, is capable of the clearest proof. 
Christ said to the Jews, " Search the Scriptures, for 
in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are 
they which testify of me." " For had ye believed 
Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of 
me." On another occasion, he said, "Ye do err, not 
knowing the Scriptures," where it is evidently im- 
plied that the Scriptures are an unerring rule. In 
the same chapter it is recorded, that Jesus confounded 
the Pharisees by asking them how David could in 
spirit call Christ Lord, when he was his son. 
Again, Christ after his resurrection expresses this 
sentiment in the strongest terms: "These are the 
words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with 
you ; That all things must be fulfilled, which 
are written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, 
and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he 
their understandings, that they should understand the 
Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, 
and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from 
the dead, on the third day." In the preceding part 
of the same discourse, this idea is also clearly exhibit- 
ed: " Then he said unto them, fools, and slow of 
heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken; 
ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 231 

to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses 
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all 
the Scriptures the things concerning himself. And 
they said one to another, Did not our hearts burn 
within us while he talked with us by the way, and 
while he opened to us the Scriptures?" So also in 
the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord addressing Peter 
said, " Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my 
Father, and he shall presently give me more than 
twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the 
Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" The 
same infallible authority is ascribed to the Old Testa- 
ment by Christ, in his dispute with the Jews, recorded 
in the tenth chapter of John. "Jesus answered them, 
Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? If 
he called them gods to whom the word of God came, 

and THE SCRIPTURES CANNOT BE BROKEN," &C. We 

have, besides, many passages, in which the evangel- 
ists refer to the Holy Scriptures as an infallible stand- 
ard of truth. " But though he had done so many 
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him, 
that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfil- 
led which he spake — Lord, who hath believed our 
report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord reveal- 
ed ?" " Therefore, they could not believe, because 
that Esaias saith again — He hath blinded their eyes," 
&c. " For these things were done that the Scripture 
should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be bro- 
ken. And again, another scripture saith, They shall 
look on him whom they have pierced." 

The apostles are not less explicit than Christ and 
the evangelists, in testifying to the inspiration of the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament. Paul in his second 
epistle to Timothy put him in mind, that " from a 
child he had known the holy Scriptures, which were 
able to make him wise unto salvation, through faith 
which is in Christ Jesus;" and then adds, "all Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruc- 
tion in righteousness ; that the man of God may be 
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works 



?> 



232 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The Scriptures, which Timothy knew from his child- 
hood, must have been the books of the Old Testa- 
ment, for at that time no others had been written. 
But when Paul goes on to declare, that " all Scrip- 
ture was given by inspiration of God/' he might 
have included under this general expression, all the 
books of the New Testament which had been pub- 
lished before his second imprisonment at Rome; and 
this would probably comprehend the first three Gos- 
pels, the Acts of the Apostles, and all his own epistles; 
for this seems to have been the last of Paul's writings; 
as he says in it, "I am now ready to be offered, and 
the time of my departure is at hand." That the 
writings of Paul were by the Church reckoned among 
the sacred Scriptures, we learn from the second epis- 
tle of Peter, which was probably written about this 
time or a little before. His words are remarkable, as 
containing the only clear testimony on record of one 
apostle to the writings of another. " Account," says he, 
"that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even 
as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the 
wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you. As 
also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these 
things; in which are some things hard to be under- 
stood; which they that are unlearned and unstable 
pervert, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their 
own destruction." Hence it would appear, that 
Paul's epistles were now well known, and were 
reckoned among the other Scriptures, by the apostle 
Peter. Certainly then Paul himself might have in- 
cluded them, as well as the other published books of 
the New Testament, under the phrase "all Scrip- 
ture;" and if so, this passage will contain a strong 
testimony to the inspiration of the whole of the Old 
Testament, and a large part of the New Testament. 
And admitting the facts of Paul's miraculous conver- 
sion, divine mission as an apostle, and endowment 
with the gift of tongues, of healing, of prophecy, &c, 
we cannot deny that he is a witness, in this case, on 
whom we may repose the most perfect confidence. 
The apostle Peter has also given the most unequi- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 233 

vocal testimony to the inspiration of the Old Testa- 
ment prophets. He had been speaking concerning 
the wonderful scene of which he was a witness on 
the mount of transfiguration, whereupon he goes on 
to say: "We have a more sure word of prophecy 
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a 
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn 
and the day-star arise in your hearts; knowing this 
first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private 
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old 
time by the will of man ;but holy men of God spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." There is 
another testimony of this apostle in his first epistle; 
in which he clearly speaks of the inspiration of the 
prophets. " Of which salvation the prophets have 
inquired, and searched diligently, who prophesied of 
the grace that should come unto you; searching what 
or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which 
was in them did signify, when it certified beforehand 
the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should 
follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto 
themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things 
which are now reported unto you, by them that have 
preached the gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost 
sent down from heaven." 

That the Scriptures of the Old Testament were 
continually recognized by the apostles as given by 
inspiration of God, is so evident from every mention 
of them, that it may seem to be a waste of time to 
adduce the testimonies; but the subject is exceed- 
ingly important, and we cannot too frequently have 
these evidences set before our eyes. 

In the epistle to the Hebrews, there are many 
clear testimonies, some of which I will bring for- 
ward. In the very first sentence it is said, " God, 
who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in 
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in 
these last days spoken unto us by his Son." What- 
ever is spoken by the prophets is represented through- 
out this book as spoken by God himself. Thus in 
the same chapter it is declared. "And when he bring- 

20* 



234 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

eth the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And 
let all the angels of God worship him. And of the 
angels, he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits. 
But to the Son, he saith, Thy throne, God, is for 
ever and ever." Now all these passages, where 
God is said to speak, are quotations from the Psalms. 
Certainly then we may conclude, that whatever is 
spoken in this book of Psalms is from the inspiration 
of God. The same is the fact, in the next chapter, 
where a large part of the eighth Psalm is quoted and 
applied to Christ. So also the Captain of our salvation 
is represented as saying certain things, which are 
found written in the Old Testament : " Saying, I will 
declare thy name unto my brethren:" — "And again, II 
will put my trust in him." In the third chapter of 
this epistle we have a quotation from the Psalms in 
the following remarkable words, " Wherefore, as the 
Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice 
harden not your hearts." And in the fourth chapter 
the same style is used as before. " For he spake in 
a certain place of the seventh day in this wise, And 
God did rest the seventh day from all his works." 
And in the fifth: "But he said unto him, Thou art 
my Son; to-day have I begotten thee. As he saith 
also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after 
the order of Melchisedec." And God is represented 
as the speaker, not only in what is written in the 
Psalms, but in the prophets also. In the eighth 
chapter we have a long quotation from Jeremiah, 
which is declared to be the word of the Lord. "Be- 
hold the days come, saith the Lord," &c. One more 
testimony from this book shall suffice. In the tenth 
chapter, it is said, "Wherefore the Holy Ghost also 
is a witness unto us ; for after that he had said be- 
fore, This is the covenant that I will make with 
them after those days, saith the Lord," &c. 

In short, as the writers of the Old Testament declar- 
ed themselves to speak what they received from the 
Lord, so the whole of the Scriptures are continually 
referred to, and recognized as given by inspiration ; 
insomuch that it would be difficult to find a single 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 235 

passage, in which these Scriptures are mentioned, 
where this idea is not expressed or clearly implied. 
And it will be shown hereafter, that the writers of 
the New Testament claim inspiration for themselves. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE INSPIRATION OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

If, as has been shown, the Old Testament was writ- 
ten by inspiration, and if the New Testament con- 
tains a revelation from God not less important, and 
is in fact the completion of the Old, can we believe 
that while prophets were inspired to write the former, 
the latter was left to be marred and obscured by the 
weaknesses of uninspired men ? 

To accomplish the purpose intended by revelation, 
it seems necessary that the writers who communi- 
cate it to posterity should be guided by inspiration. 
The end of revelation is to convey to men a certain 
knowledge of truth, to guide their faith and practice. 
But if the book which contains such a revelation is 
composed by erring, fallible men, we never can be 
sure, in any particular case, that we are in posses- 
sion of the truth revealed. The men may be honest 
and faithful, but we know that all men are liable to 
errors and mistakes; and all men are more or less 
under the influence of prejudices and prepossessions. 
It is evident, therefore, that the purpose of giving a 
revelation would be in a great measure defeated, 
unless inspired men were employed to make the 
record by which it is to be transmitted to the various 
nations of the earth and to posterity. 

Again, when we carefully consider the subject 
matter of the books of the New Testament, we can- 
not repose implicit confidence in what is taught, un- 



236 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

less we have evidence that the pens of the writers 
were under the guidance of inspiration. To record 
the discourses which a man hears, and transactions 
which he sees, seems, at first sight, to require nothing 
more than veracity, and integrity in the historian. 
This might to a certain extent be admitted, if the 
witness instantly noted down what he heard or saw; 
but who can believe that after the lapse of eight, 
fifteen, or fifty years, the evangelists would be able 
to record with perfect accuracy, long discourses of 
their Master, and to relate correctly all the circum- 
stances of the miracles of which they have given an 
account ? It may be said, indeed, that they could 
give substantially the facts of which they were wit- 
nesses; but this is far from being satisfactory. Such 
a record would lose a portion of that reverence which 
it ought to possess, in order to give it a commanding 
authority over the conscience, and make it a solid 
foundation for unshaken confidence. In regard to 
the mysterious and sublime doctrines which the 
apostles teach in their epistles, if once we admit the 
idea that they were fallible men, we shall continually 
be liable to doubt: we shall be afraid they have mis- 
apprehended, or forgotten what they had heard; or, 
that, under the bias of prejudice or inclination, they 
may have been led insensibly to give a distorted 
view of the truths which they inculcate. 

But we are not left to conclude from the necessity 
of the case merely, that the writers of the New Tes- 
tament were inspired by the Holy Ghost. We have 
clear and abundant proof that our blessed Lord 
promised infallible guidance to his disciples whom 
he chose to be his witnesses to the world; and to 
whom he committed the propagation of his religion 
through all nations and all ages. " And I will pray 
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, 
that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit 
of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it 
seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know 
him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you." 
And that the Holy Spirit here promised was to guide 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 237 

the apostles in delivering their testimony, may be in- 
ferred from what is said in the fifteenth chapter of 
John : u But when the Comforter is come, whom I 
will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit 
of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall 
testify of me. And ye shall bear witness, because 
ye have been with me from the beginning/' The 
promise of plenary inspiration is, however, more ex- 
plicitly given in the sixteenth chapter. " Howbeit, 
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide 
you into all truth \ for he shall not speak of him- 
self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he 
speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall 
glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall 
show it unto you. All things that the Father hath 
are mine ; therefore said I that he shall take of mine, 
and shall show it unto you." Christ also promised 
the inspiration of immediate suggestion to his disci- 
ples, when called to answer before kings and rulers, 
and commanded them not to premeditate what they 
should say, for it would be given to them at the mo- 
ment what they ought to say. " For," said he, "it is 
not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost who speak- 
eth in you." Now we may argue with irresistible 
force, that if plenary inspiration was granted to the 
apostles to enable them to make a proper defence 
when arraigned at a human tribunal, surely they 
would not be abandoned to their own weakness 
when preparing a record of Christ's words and ac- 
tions, which was through all ages to be the guide of 
his Church. If the apostles were ever inspired, we 
may be sure that it was when directed to finish and 
record the testimony of God. The very idea that 
every book of the Old Testament was given by in- 
spiration, but that the whole of the New was com- 
posed without this aid, is revolting to the reason of 
man. And this will appear the more unreasonable, 
when we consider, that the light of the new dispen- 
sation is seven-fold clearer than that of the old. The 
very forerunner of Christ was superior to all the 
prophets that preceded him. but the least in the king- 



238 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

dom of heaven was greater than he. Then certain- 
ly, if all the prophets only spoke as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost, the apostles who were the chosen 
witnesses of Christ and chief officers of his kingdom, 
were not left without this infallible guidance, when 
engaged in performing the most important part of 
the responsible duty assigned them; when executing 
that part of their commission which was most effec- 
tual in extending and perpetuating his spiritual king- 
dom. Accordingly, the apostles claim to be inspired 
men, and speak with an authority which would be 
arrogant, if they had not written under an infallible 
guidance. They do not merely express their own 
private opinions, and endeavour to support them by 
argument; they speak as men assured of the truth of 
what they deliver, and decide with authority and 
without hesitation, questions, which none but men 
inspired by the Holy Spirit could undertake thus 
positively to determine, without exposing themselves 
to the charge of dogmatism and self-sufficiency. 

Besides, some parts of the New Testament, like 
much of the Old, are prophetic, and if true, could be 
written in no other way than by inspiration. The 
Apocalypse or Revelation given to John, is either a 
mere enthusiastic fable, or it was written by inspira- 
tion ; and such is the majesty of the ideas here pre- 
sented, and the awful sublimity of the style, that 
even Dr. Priestley was constrained to acknowledge 
that it bore on its face marks of a superhuman origin. 
If we had time to compare the prophetic representa- 
tions of this singular book with authentic history, 
there would arise an evidence of its inspiration which 
could not be easily contradicted. Such men as Sir 
Isaac Newton, Dr. S. Clarke, Bishop Hurd, Bishop 
Newton, and a multitude of others, have seen in this 
book the most convincing proof of divine inspiration. 
The same may be said of all the prophecies of the 
Old and New Testament. If there is any truth 
whatever in them, they must be inspired ; for none 
but inspired men can foretell future contingent events. 
Indeed, in all the cases where Moses and others 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 239 

declare that God spoke to them, and communicated 
instructions or laws, they must be considered as 
divinely directed, unless we deny their veracity. But 
we are now reasoning on the hypothesis, that the 
books are authentic and written by men of truth and 
honesty. 

The style of the evangelists has often been adduced 
as an evidence of their inspiration: not that they 
write with an elegance and sublimity which cannot 
be imitated; but because they write as persons divest- 
ed of the feelings which commonly belong to men. 
They write with an unaffected simplicity, and with 
an impartial, dispassionate regard to truth, which 
has no parallel, and has never been successfully imi- 
tated. How could illiterate men produce such works 
as the gospels without inspiration ? Select a thou- 
sand sensible men, but unaccustomed to composition, 
and set them to write a simple history of the most 
remarkable transactions with which they have been 
conversant, and there will not be in any one of them 
an approximation to the characteristic manner of the 
evangelists. Others, and men possessed of more 
learning than the apostles, have undertaken, without 
inspiration, to write gospels, as if composed by some 
one or other of those holy men; but you cannot 
place the evidence of the inspiration of the genuine 
gospels in a stronger light than by contrasting them 
with any or all the apocryphal writings under the 
names of the apostles. 

But we are in danger here of repeating what has 
already been said under the head of the internal 
Evidences of Christianity. The truth is, that the 
whole of the arguments from this source, for divine 
revelation, are directly in point to prove the doctrine 
of inspiration; and therefore, instead of going over 
the ground the second time, I would refer to what 
has been said on the subject of internal evidence. 

Miracles also furnish the most conclusive proof of 
inspiration, where it can be ascertained that the wri- 
ter of any book of Scripture possessed the power of 
performing such works; for the very end for which 



240 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

miracles were exhibited, was, to prove that the per- 
son speaking was sent from God to deliver some 
message. As Nicodemus properly said, "We know 
that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man 
can do the miracles which thou doest, unless God be 
with him." If miracles are sufficient to prove the 
truth of an oral communication, will they not also 
be equally conclusive in favour of a written declara- 
tion ? If there be any difference, it is in favour of the 
latter, because it is much more important that a 
written discourse intended for the instruction of all 
ages should be well attested, than a discourse from 
the lips, which is heard by few, and can never be re- 
covered after it has been spoken. 

In the whole of what has been said on the subject 
of inspiration, the truth of the facts recorded in the 
New Testament has been taken for granted; and also, 
that the Scriptures contain a divine revelation. We 
are not arguing with infidels, but with those who, 
while they acknowledge the divine origin of the 
Christian religion, doubt, or deny that the persons 
who wrote the books of the Old and New Testament 
were guided by a plenary inspiration. Now, as these 
persons admit that the apostles and evangelists were 
men of veracity and integrity, their testimony on this 
subject ought to be decisive. If they claim inspira- 
tion, we cannot deny it to them, without invalidating 
all the strongest evidences of the truth of Christian- 
ity. Why were they endowed with the power of 
working miracles, but that full credence might be 
given to what they testified? And when they declare 
that they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that 
what they delivered was not the word of men, but the 
word of God received by divine revelation, do not 
these miraculous powers which they possessed, as 
fully confirm what they wrote as what they spoke? 

Having before shown that the apostles furnish am- 
ple testimony to the inspiration of the Old Testament, 
we shall now adduce a few texts to prove that they 
claimed inspiration for themselves. Their message 
is every where called, the word op God. Paul 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 241 

declares, that what he preached, he received not from 
man but "from the revelation of Jesus Christ;" that 
the things which he wrote were "the commandments 
of the Lord;" and that the things which he and his 
brethren taught, " God had revealed to them by his 
Spirit." He therefore declared, that he who des- 
pised the things which he taught, despised not men 
but God. Peter ranks the commandments delivered 
by the apostles with the words of the holy Prophets; 
and as has been before remarked, reckons the epistles 
of Paul with the other Scriptures. John says, " We 
are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he 
that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we 
the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 

The only thing wanting to complete the evidence 
of the inspiration of the New Testament, and conse- 
quently that of the Old, is to show that these writings 
were received unanimously by the Christian Church 
as inspired writings. But although there exists abun- 
dant evidence of this fact, to pursue it would lead us 
too much into detail, and would not comport with 
the studied brevity of this work. And I am the less 
inclined to enter on the labour of collecting this testi- 
mony here, because this will be done in a subsequent 
part of the work. I may say, however, that in the 
early ages of the Church, no Christian ever called in 
question the inspiration of the sacred volume; but all 
held this as a fundamental point in their religion. It 
was left for those who chose to style themselves 
rationalists, in modern times, to admit the authentic- 
ity of the facts recorded in the Bible, while they 
utterly deny the plenary inspiration of the writers. 
But this is ground on which no consistent reasoner 
can long stand. If the miracles and prophecies of 
the Scriptures be acknowledged, and the divine ori- 
gin of Christianity admitted, the inspiration of the 
writers of these books must follow as a corollary. It 
cannot be denied without the greatest inconsistency. 
And on the other hand, if inspiration be denied, the 
authenticity of the miracles and prophecies will soon 
be abandoned. The course of theological opinion 

21 



242 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

among the neologists of Germany, for a number of 
years past, furnishes a striking illustration of the truth 
of the aforesaid observations. For a time the assault, 
in that country, was merely upon the doctrine of 
inspiration ; but no sooner was that ground conceded, 
than the critics directed their artillery against the 
authenticity of the miraculous facts and prophecies. 

There is no end to the objections which may be 
started against the plenary inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures, just as is the fact in regard to the visible uni- 
verse as the work of God ; and it cannot be denied 
that there is a striking analogy between the mode of 
reasoning pursued by atheists and deists. But the 
foundation of all their arguments is human ignorance. 
They cannot form the conception of a creation by a 
being of almighty power and infinite wisdom, and 
of a supernatural revelation from such a being, which 
would not be liable to as great and much greater 
objections, than they are able to bring forward against 
his works and word, as they do actually exist. If 
such men could be induced in a calm and unpre- 
judiced manner to examine this subject, I would 
recommend to them a careful perusal of Butler's 
•Analogy of Natural and Revealed Religion; and to 
the deist I would especially recommend the seventh 
chapter of the second part, where the author, in a 
manner peculiar to himself, makes first some observa- 
tions on the particular evidences of Christianity, and 
then, in the close, exhibits a view of the evidence 
arising from a general survey of the contents of the 
Bible. The argument, as presented in this last form, 
is so original and striking, that I would insert it in 
this place, were I not afraid of swelling this volume 
to an inconvenient size. The whole of the second 
book of the Analogy may be considered as the most 
satisfactory method of meeting the popular objections 
to divine revelation. 

In regard to particular objections, arising from ap- 
parent discrepancies, from extraordinary facts, and 
from mysterious doctrines found in the sacred volume, 
it will be sufficient to refer the inquisitive reader to 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 243 

the first volume of Home's Introduction, and to 
Dick's deservedly popular work on Inspiration; 
and also to learned commentators, some of whom 
have taken much pains to reconcile seeming contra- 
dictions, and to elucidate obscure passages, by an 
application of the rules of sacred criticism. I would 
only further remark in relation to the usual objections 
to the inspiration of the Scriptures, that they militate 
as fully against the authenticity of the facts as against 
the inspiration of the writers, and therefore do not 
require to be considered and obviated under this 
head. 

A summary of the whole evidence for the plenary 
inspiration of the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament, is as follows : all the Internal Evidences 
of Christianity — whether arising from the peculiar 
excellence of the matter, or the simplicity and sub- 
limity of the style ; from the perfection of the cha- 
racter ascribed to Jesus Christ ; from the continual 
recognition of the over-ruling providence of God, 
from the pure and elevated spirit of devotion which 
breathes through the sacred pages, from the penetra- 
ting and transforming efficacy of the holy Scriptures, 
and from their adaptation to the constitution of the 
human mind, and to the existing relations among 
men, go to prove, that they were written under the 
infallible guidance of the Holy Spirit. 

Again, every prophecy which has been fulfilled, 
furnishes undoubted and independent evidence of the 
inspiration of that particular part of the Scriptures; 
and all the laws which proceeded from the mouth 
of Jehovah must be considered as infallible precepts, 
unless we call in question the whole truth of the 
narrative. 

The writers, for the most part, were endued with 
the power of working miracles. These facts, it is 
admitted, prove that God spake by them; and if the 
prophets and apostles were inspired in the discourses 
which they delivered, then, a fortiori, they must 
have been inspired in preparing those writings which 



244 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

were intended to guide the faith and practice of be- 
lievers through all ages. 

Moreover, the sacred writers generally lay claim 
to inspiration. They speak authoritatively in the 
name of the Lord. They call their message, the 
word of God, and Christ has set his seal to the ple- 
nary inspiration of all the Scriptures of the Old Tes- 
tament. The apostles and evangelists, in the most 
explicit manner, declare the same truth. 

Besides, Christ promised plenary inspiration to his 
disciples, and they professed to be under the guidance 
of the Spirit in what they wrote. 

And finally, while some of the apostles were 
living, their writings were classed with the divine 
Scriptures, and were universally received as inspired, 
and as the infallible word of God, by the whole 
primitive Church. 

We cannot but conclude, therefore, that all the 
books of the Old and New Testament were written 
by the inspiration of God, and contain an infallible 
rule to guide the faith and practice of the church to 
the end of the world. 



CANONICAL AUTHORITY 



OF THE 



BOOKS OF SCRIPTURE 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF ASCERTAINING THE TRUE CANON OF HOLY SCRIPTURE, 

The Bible includes a large number of separate books, 
published in different ages, during a space of more 
than fifteen hundred years. Each of these books, 
when first published, formed a volume ; or at least, 
the writings of each author were, in the beginning, 
distinct: and if they had continued in that separate 
form, and had been transmitted to us in many vol- 
umes instead of one, their authority would not on 
this account have been less, nor their usefulness 
diminished. Their collection into one volume is 
merely a matter of convenience ; and if any persons 
choose now to publish these books in a separate 
form, they cannot with propriety be charged with 
casting indignity on the word of God. 

Hence it appears, that besides general arguments 
to demonstrate that the Bible contains a divine reve- 
lation, there is need of special proofs to evince that 
each of the books now included in that sacred vol- 
ume, has a right to the place which it occupies, or 
does in reality contain a part of that revelation which 
God has given. 

21* 245 



246 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

If, therefore, it could be shown (which, however, 
it never can) that some particular book, now inclu- 
ded in the Bible, was not authentic, the conclusion 
thence derived would only affect that single produc- 
tion, unless it were recognized as divine by the wri- 
ters of the other books. The credit of the whole 
volume would not be destroyed, even if it could be 
proved that one half the books of which it consists 
were spurious. Infidels have much more to effect 
in overthrowing the Bible, than they commonly sup- 
pose. It is incumbent on them to demonstrate, not 
only that this or that book is false, but that every one 
of these productions is destitute of evidence that it 
has been derived from the inspiration of God. 

On the other hand, it is manifest, that the advocate 
of divine revelation is bound to defend the claims of 
every separate portion of this volume, or to reject 
from it that part which has no evidence of a divine 
origin. It is necessary that he should be able to 
render a good reason why he admits any particular 
book to form a part of the inspired volume. 

It is true, that the antiquity of this collection claims 
for it a high degree of respect: the transmission of 
this volume to us, through so many centuries, as 
holy scripture, should teach us to be cautious how 
we question what is so venerable for its antiquity. 
But this only furnishes one presumptive argument 
in favour of eacli book. It by no means renders 
all further investigation unnecessary, much less, im- 
pious. 

It is easy to conceive that books not written by the 
inspiration of God, might, by some casualty or mis- 
take, find a place in the sacred volume. In fact, we 
have a striking example of this very thing in the 
Greek and Latin Bibles which are now in use, and 
held to be sacred by a large majority of those who 
are denominated Christians. These Bibles, besides 
the books which have evidence of being truly in- 
spired, contain a number of other books, the claim 
of which to inspiration cannot be sustained by solid 
and satisfactory reasons. This inquiry, therefore, is 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 247 

far from being one of mere curiosity: it is in the 
highest degree practical r , and concerns the conscience 
of every man capable of making the investigation. 
We agree, in the general, that the Bible is the word 
of God, and an authoritative rule; but the momen- 
tous question immediately presents itself, what be- 
longs to the Bible? Of what books does this sacred 
volume consist? And it will not answer, to resolve 
to take it as it has come down to us, without further 
inquiry; for the Bible has come down to us in seve- 
ral different forms. The Vulgate Latin Bible, which 
alone was in use for hundreds of years before the era 
of the Reformation, and also the Greek version of the 
Old Testament, contain many books not in the copies 
of the Hebrew Scriptures. Now, to determine which 
of these contains the whole of the inspired books 
given to the Jews before the advent of Christ, and 
no more, requires research and accurate examination. 
The inquiry, therefore, is not optional, but forces itself 
upon every conscientious man; for as no one is at 
liberty to reject from the sacred volume one sentence, 
much less a whole book of the revelation of God, so 
no one has a right to add any thing to the word of 
God : and of consequence, no one may receive as 
divine, what others have without authority added to 
the holy scriptures. Every man, therefore, accord- 
ing to his opportunity and capacity, is under a moral 
obligation to use his best endeavours to ascertain 
what books do really and of right belong to the 
Bible. An error here, on either side, is dangerous; 
for, on the one hand, if we reject a part of divine 
revelation, we dishonour God, and deprive ourselves 
of the benefit which might be derived from that por- 
tion of divine truth; and, on the other hand, we are 
guilty of an equal offence, and may suffer an equal 
injury, by adding spurious productions to the Holy 
Scriptures; for thus we adulterate and poison the 
fountain of life, and subject our consciences to the 
authority of mere men. 

I think, therefore, that the importance and necessi- 
ty of this inquiry must be evident to every person of 



248 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

serious * reflection. But to some it may appear that 
this matter has beeri long ago settled on the firmest 
principles ; and that it can answer no good purpose 
to agitate questions which have a tendency to pro- 
duce doubts and misgivings in the minds of common 
Christians, rather than a confirmation of their faith. 
In reply to the first part of this objection, I would 
say, that it is freely admitted that this subject has 
been ably and fully discussed long ago, and in almost 
every age until the present time; and the author 
aims at nothing more, in this short treatise, than to 
exhibit to the sincere inquirer who may not enjoy 
better means of information, the substance of those 
discussions and proofs, which ought to be in the pos- 
session of every Christian. His object is, not to bring 
forth any thing new, but to collect, and condense in 
a narrow space, what has been written by the judi- 
cious and the learned, on this important subject. But, 
that discussion tends to induce doubting, is a senti- 
ment unworthy of Christians who maintain that their 
religion is founded on the best reasons, and who are 
commanded to give to every man a reason of the 
hope that is in them. That faith which is weakened 
by discussion is mere prejudice, not true faith. They 
who receive the most important articles of their reli- 
gion upon trust from human authority, are continu- 
ally liable to be thrown into doubt; and the only 
method of obviating this evil, is to dig deep and lay 
our foundation upon a rock. If this objection had 
any weight, it would discourage all attempts to es- 
tablish the truth of our holy religion by argument; 
and would also damp the spirit of free inquiry on 
every important subject. It is true, however, that 
the first effect of free discussion may be, to shake 
that easy confidence which most men entertain, that 
all their opinions are correct; but the beneficial result 
will be, that instead of a persuasion, having no other 
foundation than prejudice, it will generate a faith 
resting on the firm basis of evidence. 

The word Canon is derived from a Greek word 
which literally signifies a rule, and is several times 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 249 

used in the New Testament, as in Gal. vi. 6. Phil, 
iii. 16. And as the inspired books are the authori- 
tative rule to regulate our faith and practice, the 
early fathers gave to them this name ; all such books 
were called canonical; and thus they have been 
denominated ever since. Thus IrenaBUs speaks of 
the Holy Scriptures as the canon of truth; Cle- 
ment of Alexandria employs the appellation of the 
true evangelical canon; Eusebius calls the Scrip- 
tures the ecclesiastical canon, and Athanasius 
speaks of the three sorts of books; 1. The canoni- 
cal; 2. Such as might be read; And 3. The apocry- 
phal. The council of Laodicea ordained, that none 
but canonical books should be read in the Church, 
that is, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. 

In the same language are the inspired books de- 
scribed by the other fathers and councils. 

In treating this subject, it will be necessary to in- 
quire into the claims which every book now received 
by Jews or Christians, Romanists or Protestants, has 
to a place in the canon. Where there is a universal 
agreement among all who receive the Scriptures, 
little need be said; but in regard to disputed points, 
it will be necessary to be more particular. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



the care with which the books of the old testament were pre- 
served their canonical authority the sanction given to 

these books by the saviour and his apostles and the method 

of ascertaining what books were in the canon at the time of 
Christ's advent. 

It would be reasonable to conclude, even if nothing 
had been said, that a book written by divine inspira- 
tion would, by all pious persons, be carefully pre- 
served. But we are expressly informed, that when 
Moses had finished writing the law, he "command- 



250 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ed the Levites which bore the ark of the covenant 
of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, 
and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of 
the Lord your God, that it may be there for a wit- 
ness against thee."* 

Here, in the most sacred part of the sanctuary, the 
Pentateuch was preserved as a sacred deposite. On 
one occasion, indeed, it seems to have been displaced, 
and its integrity endangered, when in the reigns of 
Manasseh and Amon idolatry so prevailed, that the 
true worship of God was suspended. During this 
period of darkness, the law was cast out among the 
rubbish, where it was found in the reign of the pious 
Josiah.t But while the autograph of Moses was 
laid up by the side of the ark, we are not to suppose 
that there were no authentic copies of this sacred 
book among the people. Josephus relates, that every 
tribe, by the command of Moses, was furnished with 
a copy. And as it contained the liturgy for the pub- 
lic worship of God, the rites of which were very nu- 
merous, and the regulations very minute, the priests 
and Levites must have been supplied with copies, to 
enable them rightly to conduct the public service. 
This book also contained the law of the land, and 
prescribed the duties of kings and rulers; on which 
account it was expressly commanded, that when 
there should be a king, "He shall write him a copy 
of this law in a book, out of that which is before 
the priests, the Levites.^J 

It would, however, be unreasonable to expect that 
the autograph of Moses could last until this period 
of the world. What became of it is not known. 
The probability is, that it perished with the ark, in 
the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. 
And this fact probably occasioned the tradition which 
was prevalent among the Jews, that the sacred Scrip- 
tures were utterly lost in the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem by the Chaldeans; and that they were restored 
by Ezra, by divine inspiration. Now it is probable 

* Deut. xxxi. 25, 26. t Deut. xvii. 18. 

t 2 Kings xxii. 9, 10, 11. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 251 

that the autographs were lost, and that Ezra the 
scribe, who was an inspired man, collected the scat- 
tered copies of the sacred books, corrected their errors, 
and thus restored the Scriptures to their original in- 
tegrity. On account of this important and pious 
labour, the constitution of the canon of the Old Tes- 
tament is by the Jews ascribed to Ezra; and they 
join with him, _as assistants, " the men of the great 
synagogue," some of whom were prophets, by whose 
aid the sacred volume was prepared, and copies cir- 
culated among the people. In such a work, he would 
need many coadjutors; and no more holy or import- 
ant work could have occupied the time and attention 
of inspired men. It is reasonable to believe, there- 
fore, that all who were qualified to render effectual 
aid in this service, would be ready to assist Ezra in 
correcting and preparing the Holy Scriptures, for 
general use. 

That all the copies of the law were not lost, is as 
evident as any thing can be ; for Daniel in the captivity 
had possession of the prophecies of Jeremiah. And 
Ezra himself was a "ready scribe in the law;" and 
in the sixth chapter of Ezra we read, that the func- 
tions of the priests were regulated after the second 
temple was finished, " as it is written in the book of 
Moses;" and this was many years before Ezra came 
to Jerusalem. And in the eighth chapter of Nehe- 
miah it is said, that Ezra " brought the law before 
the congregation, and read therein from morning 
until mid-day." 

In regard to the other books, little is said. We 
read, however, that the writings of Joshua were 
annexed to the law, and of course deposited with it 
by the side of the ark; and we may take it for grant- 
ed, as a matter of course, than when any prophet or 
inspired man had finished a writing intended for 
general use, it was added to the volume of the law, 
and preserved with it. 

How carefully the writings of Moses were read 
and accurately remembered, appears from the fre- 
quent reference made to the facts there recorded by 



252 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

the writers who came ,after Moses ; especially, by the 
holy men who composed the book of Psalms. And 
that this knowledge was commonly possessed by men 
not inspired, will appear from the full and accurate 
recapitulation of the history recorded in the law, in 
the complete and eloquent answer given by Jepthah 
to the king of the Ammonites.* The writings of the 
prophets also abound in references to facts recorded 
in the law of Moses. 

On what material the Scriptures were written, in 
what character or alphabet, whether bound up in a 
single volume or in several; whether preserved in 
rolls, as in the synagogues now, or in the common 
form of our books, are inquiries which are worthy 
the attention of the biblical student, but no way 
necessary to our purpose, at present. 

That which is of the utmost importance is, to know 
that the Lord Jesus Christ and his inspired apostles, 
gave their unqualified sanction to the Scriptures 
which were in use and read in the synagogues, in 
their time. Christ severely censures the Scribes and 
Pharisees and Lawyers for neglecting to obey the 
Scriptures, and for misrepresenting them and render- 
ing the law of God void by their vain traditions; but 
he never hints that they had corrupted the sacred 
text. On the contrary, he refers to the Scriptures, 
then extant among the Jews, as an infallible stand- 
ard. "Search the Scriptures," said he; "for in 
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they 
which testify of me."t Again, " Ye do err, not 
knowing the Scriptures." % He proves his doctrine 
by the Scriptures, " which cannot be broken,"§ and 
it is asserted repeatedly, that certain things came to 
pass, "that the Scriptures might be fulfilled." || Yea, 
Christ himself declares "they must be fulfilied."1T 
And Paul says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God."** They are also by this apostle called "the 

* Judges xi. || Mark xiv. 49. 

t John v. 39. IF Matt. xxvi. 54. 

X Matt. xxii. 29. ** 2 Tim. iii. 16. 
§ John x. 35. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 253 

oracles of God,* the word of GoD."t And Peter 
says, " the prophecy came not in old time by the 
will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost. "% And James speaks of 
the Scriptures with equal confidence and respect. 
"And receive with meekness," says he, "the ingraft- 
ed word, which is able to save your souls"§ — " And 
the Scripture was fulfilled which saith," &c.|| 

Thus it appears, that we have the best possible 
evidence that the scriptures which were in use 
when Christ was upon earth, were entire and uncor- 
rupted, and were an infallible rule; and that men 
erred from not knowing or understanding them. 
Whether these scriptures were included in one 
book or in several, is of no consequence. In one 
place, our Lord refers to the Scriptures of the Old 
Testament under the name of Moses and the Pro- 
phets.1T They seem, however, to have been divided 
into three parts, called by our Saviour, " the Law, 
the Prophets, and the Psalms."** This exactly 
corresponds with the ancient division of the Jews, 
into the Law, Prophets, and Hagiographa, which is 
mentioned by Josephus. But whether there were 
three separate volumes, or only one, is a matter of 
no manner of consequence, any more than it is now, 
whether the canonical Scriptures are included in one 
or two volumes. 

The only difficulty which remains is, to ascertain 
what books were actually extant, at that time, under 
the name of scriptures. If we can settle this point 
satisfactorily, the proof of the canon of the Old Testa- 
ment will be complete. 

In the first place, then, it may be observed, that 
the most important parts of the Old Testament are 
expressly quoted. We have seen that our Lord 
mentions the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms; 

* Romans iii. 2. Heb. v. 12. 

t Rom. ix. 6. x. 17. 1 Cor. xiv. 36. 2 Cor. ii. 17. Ephes. vi. 17. 
Col. i. 25. 1 Thess ii. 13. 1 Tim. ii. 9. 
X 2 Peter i. 21. 

§ James i. 21. 22. I Luke xvi. 29, 31. 

|| James iv\ 5 ** Luke xxiv. 44. 

22 



254 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and several of the prophets are named, and citations 
are made from others. Now, as far as this evidence 
goes, it is complete; but it must be acknowledged, 
that several books now in the canon of the Old Tes- 
tament, are not named nor quoted. In regard to 
these we must resort to other evidence. 

The next proof is derived from the copies of the 
Hebrew Bible in the hands of the Jews. If our 
canon is not the same as the one in use in the time 
of Christ, the alteration must have been made by the 
Christians, either by adding or taking away some 
books. But if this had been done, the fraud could 
easily have been detected by referring to the Jewish 
Scriptures ; for no one can suppose that they would 
join in collusion with Christians, to mar or adulterate 
their own sacred volume. Such has been the hostili- 
ty between the Jews and Christians from the begin- 
ning, that they have been mutually safeguards of the 
inspired books, to preserve them from alteration by 
one party or the other. All that is necessary, there- 
fore, is to compare our copies of the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures with those found among the Jews. The result 
of this comparison is, that in regard to this point, 
there is a perfect agreement between the Jews and 
Protestant Christians. We claim a place for no book 
in the canon which they do not acknowledge to be 
inspired ; and they bring no accusation against Pro- 
testants for having mutilated the sacred volume by 
abstracting from it any book or chapter. 

But again, we are able to approach very near to 
direct and full proof of the point in hand, from a 
most unsuspected quarter. Josephus, who was con- 
temporary with the apostle Paul, and himself not 
only a learned man, but a priest, has left on record 
a testimony which every impartial man will consider 
satisfactory. "We have," says he, "only two and 
twenty books which are to be believed as of divine 
authority. Of which, five are the books of Moses. 
From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, 
the son of Xerxes, king of Persia, the prophets, who 
were the successors of Moses, have written in thir^ 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 255 

teen books. The remaining four books contain 
hymns to God, and instructions of life for the use of 
men." Here the number and the description of the 
books, considered of divine authority, furnish satis- 
factory testimony, that the canon of the Jews in tUe 
time of our Saviour corresponds entirely with ours. 

At first view it might seem, that we had many 
more than two and twenty books in the volume of 
the Old Testament ; but this difficulty will be easily 
removed, when it is considered, that the Jews always 
reckoned the twelve minor prophets as one book; 
and the book of Ruth they considered an appendage 
to Judges, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah an 
appendage to his prophecy. Thus the number will 
be reduced exactly to twenty-two. 

We have, besides, the direct testimony of early 
Christian writers. Melito, bishop of Sardis, who 
lived in the second century, took the trouble of mak- 
ing a journey into Judea, to inquire into this matter ; 
and although his own work has not come down to 
us, Eusebius has preserved his catalogue of the books 
of the Old Testament ; from which it appears that 
the sacred canon contained then the very same books 
which are now included in it. 

To Melito we may add the testimony of Origen, 
who spent much of his time in a place near to Judea, 
and who was skilled in the Hebrew tongue. This 
learned man has left a catalogue of the books of the 
Old Testament, which perfectly corresponds with our 
canon, except that he has omitted the twelve minor 
prophets; which book, however, he recognizes in 
other places as a part of the sacred volume. 

Besides having catalogues by many other of the 
fathers, we have the testimony of two councils ; that 
of Laodicea, and of Carthage ; both of which made 
out catalogues of the books of the Old Testament, 
which are in perfect accordance with the canon as 
now constituted. 

If other proof were needed, it might be found in 
the Samaritan Pentateuch, as far as the law is con- 
cerned; and in the Septuagint version, which con- 



256 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

tains all the books which are now in the Old Testa- 
ment, in the Hebrew Bibles. This version was made 
nearly three centuries before the birth of Christ, and 
had long been in general and familiar use, even in 
the land of Judea. It is true, that this version, as it 
has come down to us, while it comprehends all the 
books now in the canon, includes what is called the 
apocrypha; therefore, while it furnishes full proof 
that nothing has been added, we cannot refer to it 
for proof that nothing has been taken away. But 
the inquiry respecting the apocryphal books, which 
claim a place in the canon, will be taken up in the 
next chapter. 

Further proof of the canon of the Old Testament 
might be derived from the early versions made soon 
after the commencement of the Christian era; par- 
ticularly the Syriac, and Latin Vulgate ; as also from 
the quotations of the early Christian writers; from 
the Targums, which contain a paraphrase of all the 
books of the Old Testament in Chaldee. And abun- 
dant evidence of the same thing might be drawn from 
the Talmud, which contains the oral law of the Jews. 
But as what has already been adduced is sufficient, 
we deem it unnecessary to multiply proofs in a mat- 
ter so evident. 

Having shown that our canon of the Old Testa- 
ment is the same as that which existed in the time 
of our Saviour, to which he gave his full and empha- 
tic approbation, it follows of course, that none of the 
books which ever made a part of the sacred volume 
have been lost. But here we are met with an objec- 
tion derived from the Old Testament itself, where 
several books are spoken of and referred to, which 
cannot now be found. For example, it is said of 
Solomon, "that he spake three thousand proverbs, 
and his songs were a thousand and five. And he 
spake of the trees, from the cedar in Lebanon even 
unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he 
spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping 
things, and of the fishes."* 

J* 1 Kings iv. 32, 33. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 257 

We read also of "the book of Samuel the seer," 
and "the book of Nathan the prophet ;" and "the 
book of Gad the seer."* Mention is also made of 
the book of " Jasher ;" and of the book of " the wars 
of the Lord," &c.t 

In answer to this objection it will be sufficient to 
remark, that there is no evidence that these composi- 
tions of Solomon were ever written, as the text -only- 
says, that he spake these things; but supposing them 
to have been written, there is no evidence that they 
were ever intended to be a part of the sacred canon ; 
or that these compositions were inspired : for it is not 
necessary to suppose that either prophets or apostles 
had inspiration to direct them in all matters of com- 
mon life, or in writing on subjects of natural science. 

But in regard to the books of certain prophets and 
seers, it is highly probable, that those men assisted in 
writing the historical books of Samuel, Kings, and 
Chronicles. 

And as to the book of Jasher, and the book of th 
wars of the Lord, too little is known about them to 
authorize us to think that they formed a part of the 
ancient canon ; unless we adopt the opinion, that we 
still possess them under other names. Here it may 
with propriety be observed, that the Hebrew word 
for booh , is used to signify any list or genealogy, 
and, accordingly, it is the opinion of judicious com- 
mentators, that the " book of the wars of the Lord," 
was nothing but a muster-roll of the army. And 
the book of " Jasher" (rectitude) may have been a 
compend of moral rules derived from the Scriptures ; 
or a manual (not inspired,) composed by the wise 
for the conduct of life. The mere mention of a book, 
or citation of a sentence from it, by no means gives 
it a place in the canon. 

There is no probability that any of the canonical 
books could have been lost from the Old Testament, 
when we consider with what religious, and even 
superstitious care, they have been kept and trans- 
cribed by the Jewish scribes. 

. * 1 Chron. xxix. 29, 30. t 1 Sam. i. 18. Num. xxi. 14. 

22* 



258 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The Rabbis among the Jews view this matter as 
we do : they never complain, nor even hint, that the 
sacred volume had been mutilated. 

And the unqualified testimony in favour of the 
Old Testament scriptures by Christ and his apostles, 
already referred to, ought to be decisive on this point, 
if all other evidence was wanting. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE BOOKS DENOMINATED APOCRYPHAL HAVE NO JUST CLAIM TO A PLACE 
AMONG THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

The word Apocrypha probably signifies that which 
is hidden, obscure, without authority. It is em- 
ployed to designate such writings as claim a place in 
the canon, without possessing sufficient evidence to 
substantiate their claims. This word is said to have 
been first used by Melito, bishop of Sardis, in the 
second century. The subject acquires great import- 
ance from the fact, that it was formerly and is now 
a matter of earnest controversy, between Romanists 
and Protestants, whether certain books which are 
frequently included in Greek and Latin copies of the 
Bible, are canonical, or should be considered apocry- 
phal. The number of books in dispute is six, name- 
ly, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Ba- 
ruch, and the two books of Maccabees; and also, 
some additional chapters annexed to the book of 
Esther, which are not in the Hebrew; and to the 
book of Daniel, the History of Susannah, and the 
Sons; of the Three Children are prefixed, and the 
History of Bel and the Dragon is annexed. These 
books, and portions of books, are likewise placed at 
the end of the Old Testament, in our larger English 
Bibles, under the name apocrypha. 

The council of Trent, which sat in the sixteenth 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 259 

century, have given a catalogue of the canonical 
books of Scripture, in which those above mentioned 
are included ; and they are inserted promiscuously 
with the other books, in the editions of the Latin 
Vulgate, and in all other versions prepared by mem- 
bers of the Roman Catholic Church. They consider 
all copies of the Bible imperfect and mutilated, in 
which these books are not found; and this has created 
a great obstacle to the circulation of the Scriptures 
among the people of that persuasion, as Protestant 
Bible societies have come to a resolution not to cir- 
culate Bibles which contain those books which they 
deem apocryphal. 

To show that these books are not canonical, but 
apocryphal, the following arguments are deemed suf- 
ficient. 

1. These books are not found in the Hebrew Bible; 
nor are they written in the Hebrew tongue, but in 
the Greek or Chaldaic. For the proof of this fact we 
have the testimony of Jerome, a competent witness, 
who translated several of them into Latin. There is 
strong reason to believe, that all these books were 
composed originally in the Greek language, which 
was unknown to the Jews until after the canon of 
the Old Testament was closed. It has been always 
the current opinion, both among Jews and Christians, 
that Malachi was the last of the Old Testament wri- 
ters; and books written by uncertain authors after 
the spirit of prophecy had ceased, have no just claim 
to a place in the sacred canon. The date of the com- 
position of these books cannot be accurately fixed; 
but that it occurred long after the time of Ezra and 
Malachi, there can be no ground of reasonable doubt. 

2. A second argument is, that these disputed books 
have never been acknowledged by the Jews to be 
of divine authority, nor have by them been admitted 
into the canon; and they are the best judges of what 
books properly belonged to their sacred Scriptures. 
If these books had been of divine authority, the fact 
would have been known to the Jewish Church, to 
which " the oracles of God were committed." And 



260 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

if they had ever belonged to the canon, they would 
not have been left out afterwards. 

The opinion of the ancient and modern Jews on 
this point is the same; and there is among them no 
diversity of opinion respecting this matter. Josephus, 
in a passage already quoted, declares, " that no more 
than twenty-two books were received as inspired by 
his nation." And although Philo Judaeus refers often 
to the Old Testament, and comments largely on its 
contents in his writings, he never makes the least 
mention of any one of these books. 

But if the ancient Jews knew any thing of these 
books as a part of their sacred canon, we should 
certainly find it in the voluminous writings of the 
Talmud; but not one of these books is recognized as 
canonical in this great body of Jewish traditions. It 
may certainly be inferred, therefore, that they were 
not considered canonical by the ancient Jews. 

And the more modern Jews are so far from ac- 
knowledging them, that their testimony is expressly 
against them. Rabbi Azariah says, "they are re- 
ceived by Christians, not by us." He means Ro- 
manists, who acknowledged them as we have seen. 
And Rabbi Gedaliah, as quoted by Hottinger, has 
the following testimony. After giving a catalogue 
of inspired books received by the Jews, he goes on 
to say, " It is worth while to know, that the nations 
of the world wrote many other books which are in- 
cluded in their systems of sacred books, but are not 
in our hands." To which he adds, " They say that 
some of these are found in the Chaldee, some in the 
Arabic, and some in the Greek language." 

Rabbi Azariah, before ^mentioned, ascribes the 
Wisdom of Solomon to Philo. And Rabbi Geda- 
liah observes, " That if Solomon ever wrote it, it 
must have been in the Syriac language, to send it to 
some of the kings in the remotest part of the east." 
" But," says he, " Ezra only put his hand to such 
books as were published by the prophets under the 
guidance of the Holy Spirit, and written in the sacred 
language. And our wise men prudently and delib- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 261 

erately resolved to sanction none but such as were 
established by him." " Their wise men," says Bux- 
torf, H pronounced this book to be apocryphal." 

The book called Ecclesiasticus, is expressly 
numbered among apocryphal books in the Talmud; 
where it is said, " In the book of the son of Sirach it 
is forbidden to read." And Manasseh ben Israel, 
one of the most learned of the modern Jews, observes, 
" that those things which are alleged from a verse in 
Ecclesiasticus, are nothing to the purpose, because 
this is an apocryphal book." In the same way, they 
are wont to speak of all these books; and Jerome 
informs us, that he heard one of the Jews deriding 
the history of Susannah, who said it was invented 
by some Greek, he knew not whom." It is unneces- 
sary to add further testimonies, because the fact that 
the Jews never did receive the apocrypha as a part 
of their canon, cannot be denied. 

3. The third argument against the canonical au- 
thority of the aforementioned books, is, that they are 
never cited or referred to as a part of sacred Scrip- 
ture, in the whole of the New Testament. We are 
aware that on this point we are at issue with the 
Roman Catholics. They even pretend to prove their 
right to a place in the canon, from quotations said to 
be made from them by Paul. One of the passages 
alleged is, "For who hath known the mind of the 
Lord, or who has been his counsellor ?"* And the 
other is, "For before his translation he had this testi- 
mony, that he pleased God."t But both these pas- 
sages are taken from the canonical books of the Old 
Testament ; and there is no reason to think that the 
apostle had any thought of the apocrypha when he 
cited these texts. 

4. The fourth argument against the divine autho- 
rity of these books is, that they were not received as 
inspired by the Christian fathers; but were express- 
ly rejected from the sacred canon, almost with one 
consent, by those who were best qualified to judge 
of their claims. In all the catalogues drawn up by 

* Rom. xi. 34. t Hcb. xi. 5. 



262 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

fathers and councils, for the very purpose of teaching 
the Church what books should be recieved as of di- 
vine authority, these are uniformly omitted. Justin 
Martyr, Origen, Athanasius, Hilary, Gregory Nazian- 
zen, Jerome, Epiphanius, and Cyril, together with 
the councils of Laodicea and Carthage, have left 
catalogues of the canonical books of the Old Testa- 
ment, among which, not one of these is to be found. 
And they almost all number the books agreeably to 
the Jewish custom, and make the number twenty- 
two, according to the number of letters in the He- 
brew Alphabet. And not only so, but many of these 
learned fathers make express mention of these books, 
and explicitly reject them from the sacred canon. 
This is especially the case in regard to Jerome, who 
wrote prefaces to most of the books of the Old Tes- 
tament, and in these he takes occasion to mention 
those now in question, and declares them all to be 
apocryphal. And this continued to be the common 
opinion among the most learned theologians down 
to the time of the Reformation, as Dr. Cosins has 
abundantly shown in his " Scholastic History of the 
Canon of the Old Testament." 

5. As the external evidence is unfavourable to the 
canonical authority of the books in question, so also 
is the internal evidence. 

Books which contain palpable falsehoods; abound 
in ridiculous and incredible stories ; which contradict 
the plain acknowledged doctrines of the Bible; and 
which can by no means be reconciled with the re- 
corded history of the Jews, cannot be a part of the 
sacred volume. And when the books under con- 
sideration are tried by these principles, they mani- 
festly appear to be apocryphal. 

In the book of Tobit an angel of God is made to 
tell a downright falsehood, by declaring that he was 
"Azarias the son of Ananias;" and in the same 
book, he declares, that he was " Raphael, one of the 
seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the 
saints, and go in and out before the glory of the 
Holy One." 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 263 

Although Judith is celebrated for her devoted 
piety, and the book under her name was intended to 
exhibit her as a bright example of a person wholly- 
consecrated to God; yet she is represented as speak- 
ing scarcely any thing else but falsehoods, to Holo- 
fernes; but what is still more inconsistent, she is made 
to pray to the God of truth, " Smite by the deceit of 
my lips, the servant with the prince, and the prince 
with the servant." She also commends the conduct 
of Simeon in the cruel slaughter of the Shechemites, 
of which God has expressed his strong disapproba- 
tion in various ways. Besides the objections to the 
book of Judith, already mentioned, there is another 
of great weight arising from the difficulty of finding 
any room for such transactions and such a state of 
things as are therein described, in any period of the 
Jewish history; nor is it easy to identify the places 
mentioned in this book. These difficulties have led 
some of its advocates to maintain, that the whole is 
an allegory, and that by bethulia, we should under- 
stand the Church of God, and by Nebuchadnezzar, 
the enemies of the Church; and that the victory 
achieved by the courage and address of Judith, is 
intended to teach us, that the church's deliverance is 
not to be accomplished by human power, &c. This 
perhaps is as favourable a view as can be taken of 
this extraordinary story; but no one ought any long- 
er to claim a place for this book in the sacred canon. 

In the second book of Maccabees, Razis, an elder 
of Jerusalem, is much commended for destroying his 
own life, to avoid falling into the hands of his ene- 
mies; but surely suicide has not the approbation of 
God. 

Between the two books of Maccabees there are 
irreconcilable discrepancies; and some statements re- 
specting Jeremiah's taking the ark and the golden 
altar to mount Pisgah, and hiding them in a cave, 
are manifestly fabulous. 

The book of Wisdom is written under the name 
of Solomon, the son of David, and he talks about his 
being appointed to build the temple of the Lord; 



264 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

whereas it has been clearly shown by Jerome, that 
this book never could have been written by Solomon 

The absurd story in Tobit, of driving away the 
devil by the smoke of the liver of a certain fish, and 
of healing blindness by its gall, could not have been 
given by divine inspiration. 

There are several things in the book of Baruch, not 
reconcilable with the sacred record ; and the account 
given of Mardocheus, in the chapters annexed to 
Esther, is not consistent with what is said of Mor- 
decai in the genuine parts of that book; and in this 
apocryphal writing, Haman is declared to be a Mace- 
donian, whereas in the canonical book of Esther, he 
is called an Agagite; and he is represented in the 
former to have entertained a design of transferring 
the kingdom of Persia to the Macedonians; which 
is utterly incredible; for at that time the kingdom of 
Macedon, if it existed, must have been most obscure, 
and, in all probability, unknown at the Persian court. 

6. And finally, these books are not canonical, be- 
cause they were not written by prophets, or inspired 
men ; but by writers who speak of their labours in a 
way wholly incompatible with divine inspiration. 

The uniform belief of Jews and Christians is, that 
the spirit of prophecy ceased among the Jews after 
the time of Malachi. He has, therefore, been de- 
nominated the seal of the prophets. 

We know not the author of the books of Macca- 
bees. Both Jerome and Eusebius ascribe them to 
Josephus; but they can scarcely be believed to have 
the same author, as they contradict one another. By 
tne " Compiler of Jewish History," quoted by Dru- 
sius, these books are placed after the writings of 
Josephus. The second book of Maccabees is pro- 
fessedly an abridgment of the work of one Jason of 
Cyrene, in which, five volumes are reduced to one. 
If the original work of Jason was not inspired, neither 
is this abridgment. 

The book of Wisdom is the only one which claims 
to have been written by an inspired man. But this 
very claim condemns it ; for it may be demonstrated 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 265 

that it was composed long after the death of king 
Solomon. It contains manifest allusions to Grecian 
customs, and to Grecian philosophy. The author 
praises himself, and flatters the Jewish nation, in a 
style entirely foreign to that of the inspired prophets. 
It has been by some ascribed to Philo Judseus; but 
it is more probably the work of some other Jew. If 
Solomon had written it, it would have been in the 
Hebrew, and always inserted in the Jewish canon. 

The book of Ecclesiasticus is the most valuable 
of those denominated apocryphal, and would have 
the best claim, as far as internal evidence is concern- 
ed, to a place in the canon; but the modest writer 
of this book is so far from pretending to be inspired, 
that he professes merely to have reduced to order a 
work of his grandfather, which he received from 
Sirach his father. And he entreats the reader to 
peruse his work with indulgence, and' to pardon him 
if he should be found coming short in some words 
which he attempted to interpret. Evidently the wri- 
ter was conscious of no divine inspiration. 

To evade the force of the above arguments, the 
Roman Catholic writers have invented a distinction 
between primary and secondary canonical books; 
but this is a delusive distinction. A book is either 
inspired, or it is not ; it belongs to the canon, or it 
does not. There is no conceivable medium in this 
case. There may be an intermediate class of books, 
between the canonical and spurious; that is, human 
compositions, which though not inspired, nor claim- 
ing a place in the canon, may be read with profit, 
on account of the history or moral lessons which they 
contain. Some of the fathers made this distinction, 
and call these Ecclesiastical, in contradistinction both 
from the canonical and supposititious. Such books, 
too, were read in some churches in the early ages, 
not as of authority, but merely for edification ; and 
thus they became mingled with the canonical books. 
The Greek fathers were accustomed to use the Sep- 
tuagint version of the Old Testament, and several of 
these books, now in question, being also in Greek, 

23 



266 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY 

became mixed with the canonical books, in the copies 
of this version. The oldest Greek MSS. of the LXX. 
contain them intermingled with the other books, so 
that they must have become so at an early period. 
But from the testimonies of the fathers, and the cata- 
logues of canonical books which they have left, these 
books do not appear to have been included in the 
sacred volume, in the very earliest ages of the Chris- 
tian Church. These books, indeed, were known to 
the fathers ; but they are careful to distinguish them 
from the canonical books. And as some of them 
even disapproved of their being read, and warned 
their hearers against them, it cannot reasonably be 
supposed, that they were then included in the volume 
of Holy Scripture. 

These books, called apocryphal, may be read with 
profit by the judicious; but they ought by no means 
to be placed on a level with the oracles of God; 
nor should they be bound up in the same volume 
with the canonical books, nor publicly read as a part 
of Scripture. 



CHAPTER XIX, 



CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT METHOD OP SETTLING IT TESTIMONY 

OF THE CHURCH — CONSTITUTION OF THE CANON WHENCE THESE BOOKS 

DERIVE THEIR AUTHORITY SOLICITUDE OF EARLY CHRISTIANS TO OB- 
TAIN THESE BOOKS THEIR CARE TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM OTHERS 

AUTOGRAPHS, &C. 

Three methods of determining what books of the 
New Testament are canonical, have been adopted 
by different persons. The first is the authority of the 
Church, that is, the Church of Rome, which arrogates 
this authority to herself. The second is internal evi- 
dence, which some have deemed sufficient, without 
the aid of external testimony. The third is to refer 
to historical testimony, as has been done in regard to 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 267 

the Old Testament. Some distinguished men among 
the Roman Catholics have asserted, that the Scrip- 
tures owe all their authority to the Church; so that 
if she did not give her attestation to the gospels, they 
would have no more authority than ^Esop's Fables. 
But when asked how the Church can establish her 
authority, they must answer, that it is proved by the 
testimony of the Scriptures. This is a perfect exam- 
ple of the sophism called " a circle," for they prove 
the authority of the Scriptures by the Church, and 
the authority of the Church by the Scriptures. Some 
Protestants, to avoid having recourse to the testimony 
of the Church at all, have verged to the other extreme, 
and have insisted that internal evidence is sufficient 
to enable us to determine what books belong to the 
canon. The Reformed Church of France went so 
far as to make this an article in her public Confession 
of Faith. Now it ought not to be doubted that the 
internal evidence of the Scriptures is exceedingly 
strong; and that when the mind of the reader is truly 
illuminated by the Spirit of God, it derives from this 
source the most unwavering and soul-satisfying evi- 
dence of their truth and authority; but in regard to 
particular books, that every sincere Christian should 
be able to judge by this evidence alone whether they 
are canonical or not, cannot be admitted. For exam- 
ple, suppose the books of Ecclesiasticus and of Eccle- 
siastes were put into the hands of any plain, intelli- 
gent man, is it probable that he would be able to 
determine which of them had a right to a place in 
the canon? To adopt this principle would have a 
tendency to unsettle the canon, and there would be 
no certainty as to the rule of our faith. While, there- 
fore, internal evidence ought not to be rejected, but 
may aiford much light as an auxiliary source of evi- 
dence, our principal reliance must be upon historical 
testimony: and it is a matter of thankfulness that this 
is so complete, as to leave little more to be desired 
for the satisfaction of every impartial inquirer. The 
question to be decided is a matter of fact. It is, 
whether the books which compose the New Testa- 



268 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

merit, were written by inspired men; that is, by the 
men whose names are affixed to them, the apostles 
and disciples of our Lord, who were eye-witnesses 
of the facts which they have recorded. And the 
proper method of deciding this question, is to inquire 
whether there was a general agreement among those 
fathers who lived nearest to the times of the apostles, 
on this point; for it can scarcely be supposed, that 
there could be a general error among them in regard 
to a point of this kind. A general consent of the 
early fathers, and of the whole Christian Church, 
scattered all over and beyond the Roman empire, 
furnishes the best evidence which the nature of the 
case admits of, and is that species of evidence which 
is least liable to fallacy. The learned Huet has, 
therefore, laid it down as a rule on this subject, 
"that every book is genuine, which was esteem- 
ed GENUINE BY THOSE WHO LIVED NEAREST TO THE 
TIME WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN, AND BY THE AGES 
FOLLOWING, IN A CONTINUED SERIES." 

The reasonableness and certainty of this rule will 
appear more evident, when it is considered, in what 
high esteem these books were held, with what dili- 
gence they were sought after, how constantly they 
were publicly read, and how soon they were quoted, 
and translated into other languages. 

The early Christians were neither careless nor cre- 
dulous on this subject. They pursued the only cer- 
tain method of ascertaining the facts in the case. 
They searched into the records of the Churches, and 
learned by the testimony of all, what books had 
been received into the sacred volume, from the times 
of the apostles; and some of them even travelled 
into Judea, to learn accurately all that related to the 
origin and transmission of these sacred writings. 

The question is often asked, when and by what 
authority was the canon of the New Testament con- 
stituted? It seems to be assumed as true in such in- 
quiries, that these books could not be of authority, 
until sanctioned by some council or other ecclesiasti- 
cal body; whereas, they were of authority, as far as 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 269 

known, from the day of their publication. Their 
right to a place in the canon does not depend on the 
vote of any council, or the decision of any bishop, 
but upon the fact that they were given by inspira- 
tion ; and this is known by the character of the men 
who wrote them. The appeal to testimony, there- 
fore, is not to obtain the judgment of the Church, 
that these books were canonical ; but to ascertain 
the fact, that they are indeed the productions of the 
apostles, to whom our Lord promised plenary inspi- 
ration. The Church confers no authority on these 
books. She merely testifies that they were written 
by the persons to whom they have been ascribed. 
And on this point, we seek testimony not only from 
the fathers of the Church, but from Jews, Heathen, 
and Heretics. Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian, Manes 
and Marcion, are our witnesses, as well as Irenaeus, 
Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius. The boast of the 
Romanists, therefore, is vain, that we are obliged to 
depend on the authority of the Church, for our sa- 
cred books. We defer nothing to this authority, but 
merely appeal to men of learning and probity who 
lived near the times when they were written, for 
their testimony, as to the source from which they 
were derived. That these witnesses were members 
of the Church is a mere incidental circumstance. If 
they had held no connexion with the Church, their 
testimony as to the origin of these books would not 
be invalidated, but rather strengthened ; we call in 
witnesses from without the Church, wherever we 
can find them, and consider the testimony of such 
highly valuable, because altogether unsuspected. If 
by the constitution of the canon, be meant, the col- 
lection of the books of the New Testament into one 
volume, it is a question of no importance ; for every 
one of these books had complete authority before 
such a volume was formed; and if they had remained 
separate, and never been included in a single volume, 
neither their importance nor authority would have 
been less. Indeed, the testimony of ancient fathers 
and manuscripts would lead to the conclusion, that 

23* 



270 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

in very early times, the books of the New Testament 
were not included in one, but in two volumes; one 
of which was denominated gospels; the otfyer apos- 
tles. 

Whenever all the inspired books were written and 
published, then was the canon completed, whether 
any one Church possessed the whole or only a part; 
whether they were bound in one volume or two, or 
remained each separate from the rest. 

The Church or individual, to whom any book was 
addressed, or for whom it was written, would of 
course enjoy the privilege of the first possession; but 
as these books were never locked up, but freely com- 
municated, the nearest Churches would commonly be 
first supplied with a copy, and thus the sacred books 
would soon circulate through the whole Church. 
Every Christian Church would be solicitous to ob- 
tain, as soon as possible, an authentic copy of every 
writing known to be the production of an apostle, or 
other inspired man. If, for example, they had ever 
enjoyed the unspeakable privilege of hearing Paul 
preach, how eager would they be to read his epis- 
tles? And if they had never seen this " chief of 
the apostles," their desire to see his writings would 
scarcely have been less. 

It may occur to some reader, that the Churches 
might have been imposed upon by writings, not the 
genuine productions of the apostles. To guard against 
every thing of this kind, and to give full assurance 
of the genuineness of his epistles, Paul was accus- 
tomed to commit them to the custody of respectable 
men, whose names he commonly mentions in the 
epistle. And although he appears to have employed 
an amanuensis in writing; yet he made it a point to 
pen the concluding salutation with his own hand; 
and this signature must have been well known among 
all the Churches with which he held correspondence. 
Accordingly, we read in the epistle to the Romans, 
" I, Tertius, wrote this epistle." And in the first to 
the Corinthians, "The salutation of me Paul with 
mine own hand." In that to the Galatians, " You 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 271 

see how large a letter I have written to you with 
mine own hand." To the Colossians, "The saluta- 
tion by, the hand of me Paul." And to the Thessa- 
lonians, "The salutation of Paul with mine own 
hand, which is the token in every epistle; so I write." 

Thus, what at first view appears to be a mere 
form of salutation, is found to be an important cir- 
cumstance in giving authenticity to his epistles; so 
that they could not be successfully counterfeited. 

It may be inquired, what has become of the auto- 
graph of these sacred books, and why cannot the 
very hand- writing of Paul, by which his epistles 
were authenticated, be now exhibited? The answer 
is, that no autograph of any book, as old as the New 
Testament, can be produced ; unless it has been pre- 
served in some extraordinary way, as is the fact in 
regard to numerous manuscripts found in Hercu- 
laneum ; very few of which however can be read. 
The autographs of the apostles could not have been 
preserved to this time without a miracle, and the 
occasion did not require such an interposition. And 
primitive Christians, although they appreciated the 
truths contained in these books above all price, had 
no great solicitude about the mere ink and paper. 
A correct copy was as good as the original; and 
considering the tendency of men to superstition, and 
how every pretended relic of the apostles is venerated 
and even worshipped, It seems to have been a wise 
ordination of Providence, that these autographs should 
perish. 

How long these originals continued in existence, 
we have no way of certainly knowing, but it is 
thought by many, that Tertullian refers to them, as 
extant in his time, where he says, that the authentic 
letters of the apostles might be seen by any that 
would take the pains to go to the Churches to which 
they were addressed. If he had referred to authentic 
copies*, why send the inquirer to the Churches to 
which these epistles were addressed ? Were there not 
copies to be found every where, in all the Churches, 
as well as these ? And it would be rather wonderful 



272 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

if these autographs were not in existence when Ter- 
tullian wrote, who lived less than a hundred years 
after the last of the apostles: and we have now 
manuscripts of the New Testament, which cannot be 
much less than fourteen hundred years old, and are 
perhaps older. It is, therefore, a most probable sup- 
position, that the Churches referred to had in posses- 
sion the autographs of Paul, when Tertullian lived 
and wrote. 

As there is no dispute among Christians, of any 
denomination, respecting the books which belong to 
the canon of the New Testament, it will be unneces- 
sary to go into any discussion respecting the multi- 
tude of apocryphal books, which at a certain period, 
were put into circulation under the names of the 
apostles or companions of the apostles. Most of 
these have long since perished ; and were, as soon as 
published, declared to be spurious by the Church, 
almost with one consent. Such of these spurious 
Gospels, Acts, Revelations, &c, as have come down 
to us, prove themselves to be apocryphal; and only 
serve by contrast, to reflect a brighter light on the 
genuine Scriptures. 

The proof of the canonical authority of the books 
of the New Testament may be derived from the 
catalogues which have been left by the fathers and 
councils; from express testimony of competent wit- 
nesses ; from the fact that they were read as scripture 
in the primitive Churches; from the quotations made 
from them, and appeals made to them as an authori- 
tative rule of faith and practice; and from the early 
versions of the New Testament. 

1. Catalogues of these books which are still extant, 
were made out by Origen, Eusebius, Mhanasius, 
Cyril, Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, Philas- 
trius, Jerome, Rufin, August in, and by the ancient 
author who goes under the name of Dionysius the 
Areopagite. To these may be added the catalogues 
prepared by two councils; that of Laodicea, and that 
of Carthage. The catalogue found in the book enti- 
tled, "Apostolical Constitutions" and ascribed to 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 273 

Clement of Rome, and the catalogue of the council 
of Nice, are not referred to as testimony, because we 
are of opinion, that neither of these is genuine. But 
we have no need of additional evidence. We have 
here thirteen catalogues of the books of the New 
Testament, all of which were prepared by men the 
most distinguished, and who had bestowed great 
attention on this subject. Out of these thirteen, seven 
(a majority of the whole) agree perfectly with our 
canon; and several of the others differ only by the 
omission of the book of Revelation, because it was 
not read in the Churches, and had fallen into some 
discredit on account of the use made of it by the 
Millenarians. The catalogue of Origen has an omis- 
sion of James and Jude, but this was merely acci- 
dental, for he mentions both these epistles in his other 
writings. The catalogues of Jerome, Eusebius, Epi- 
phanius, Augustin and Rufin, who of all others were 
the most competent judges of this matter, are per- 
fectly the same as our canon. That of the council 
of Carthage is also the same ; and that of the council 
of Laodicea differs only by the omission of Revela- 
tion, the reason of which has already been assigned. 
2. These books were constantly read as Scripture 
in the Churches. The primitive Christians imitated 
the Jews, in publicly reading the writings which they 
considered divine in their assemblies. This practice 
seems to have been introduced as early as the days 
of Paul, who says to the Colossians, " And when this 
epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also 
in the Church of the Laodiceans, and that ye like- 
wise read the epistle from Laodicea." (Col. iv. 16.) 
Indeed, as Paul's epistles were addressed to the peo- 
ple at large, they could in no way be so conveniently 
communicated to those to whom they were sent, as 
by the public reading of them, when the Churches 
assembled on the first day of the week. But we 
have express testimony on this point. Justin Martyr, 
who lived in the beginning of the second century, 
says, " On the day which is called Sunday, there is a 
meeting of all (Christians) who live either in cities or 



274 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

country places; and the memoirs of the apostles and 
writings of the prophets are read."* Tertullian is 
equally explicit; for in giving an account of the 
meetings of Christians for worship, he says, " They 
assemble to read the Scriptures and offer up prayers." 
And in another place, among the solemn exercises 
of the Lord's day, he mentions "reading the Scrip- 
tures, singing psalrhs, &c."t Cyprian gives a similar 
testimony,} and so does the ancient writer under the 
name of Dionysius the Areopagite, and others. Now 
nothing can be conceived better calculated to prevent 
deception by the introduction of apocryphal books, 
than this practice of the weekly public reading of the 
Scriptures, for by this means the people would know 
what books were of authority. 

It is true, that the writings of some men who had 
been the companions of the apostles, were also read 
in the Churches for the edification of the people; 
particularly the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, 
and the "Shepherd" of Hermas; but the fathers 
were careful to distinguish these from the canonical 
Scriptures. They were accustomed to call such as 
were written by inspired men canonical, and the 
writings of other pious men, such as Clement, Bar- 
nabas, and Hermas, ecclesiastical. 

3. Another evidence in favour of the canonical 
books is, that they were quoted as books of decisive 
authority by the doctors of the Christian Church, 
living in all parts of the world. Now, this can only 
be accounted for by supposing that they knew no 
other books which claimed to be canonical; or that 
they with one consent rejected such claims, and ac- 
knowledged the books now included in the sacred 
volume, as the only writings which were divinely 
inspired. The conclusion is clear, then, that those 
books which were alone cited as authority, to decide 
questions respecting faith or duty, and which were 
generally appealed to by the early writers of the 
Christian Church, are canonical. Thus, the first 

* Apol. II. p. 93. \ Cyp. Ep. 36, 39. 

f Tertullian de Anima. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 275 

epistle of Peter is universally acknowledged to be 
the production of that apostle, and is cited as autho- 
rity by all the fathers; but other books under the 
name of Peter, such as his Revelation, his Gospel, 
and his Acts, are never quoted as Scripture by any 
of the fathers. This argument is repeatedly used by 
Eusebius, and other ancient defenders of the canon 
of the New Testament; and if the premises are true, 
it is perfectly conclusive. 

Those persons, therefore, such as Toland and Dod- 
well, who have endeavoured to unsettle our present 
canon, labour with all their might to prove that other 
books, now considered apocryphal, were as com- 
monly cited by the fathers as those which are now 
deemed canonical. But learned men have thorough- 
ly examined this subject, and have shown that this 
is not the fact ; as Nye and Richardson, from an 
examination of all the passages in the fathers where 
other books are cited, have demonstrated. 

4. The early versions of the New Testament fur- 
nish an additional argument in favour of the canoni- 
cal authority of most of the books now admitted into 
the sacred volume. 

As long as the gift of tongues remained with the 
ministers of the Church, the gospel could be preached 
to all the nations in their own vernacular language ; 
but when miraculous gifts ceased, there was a great 
necessity that the sacred books should be translated 
into the languages of those people who did not 
understand Greek, in which the New Testament 
was originally written. Therefore learned men early 
applied themselves to this work; and although we 
have no exact information of the time when these 
versions were made, or the persons by whom the 
work was performed; yet we have good evidence 
that they were made very early. The Christians of 
Syria and Mesopotamia, who were accustomed to 
the use of the Syro-Chaldaic dialect, would not have 
remained long without a Syriac or Aramean version 
of the New Testament, and, as many of the learned 
in these countries were well acquainted with Greek, 



276 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

there exists a strong probability that a version into 
Syriac must have been at least begun, early in the 
second century, if not before the close of the first. 
And the fact, that the Syriac version called Peshito 
omits some of the books which were for awhile 
doubted of by some, favours the opinion that this 
version must have been made at a very early period, 
and probably in the beginning of the second century. 
Marcion, the heretic, lived in this century, and was 
acquainted with the New Testament; there was then 
a version into Syriac, his own vernacular tongue. 
Without such a translation, a large number of the 
primitive churches must have been entirely destitute 
of the Scriptures. 

The New Testament was also early translated 
into Latin, and from the fragments that remain, it 
appears that there were several versions into this 
language, which were in use, when the Latin lan- 
guage prevailed; and especially in Italy. One of 
these is called by Augustine, Itala, and was the vul- 
gate, before Jerome undertook a translation; but it 
was not long before versions were made into various 
other languages, as the Coptic, Ethiopic, Arabic, Ar- 
menian, &c. Now all these contain all the books 
which are now included in our canon, except the 
Syriac, which is probably the oldest of them all. 
The books omitted in this version are the Revela- 
tion, and some of the minor epistles which were not 
generally known when this version was made. As 
it relates to all the other books of the New Testa- 
ment, this version furnishes a satisfactory proof of 
their canonical authority. J. D. Michaelis is of opin- 
ion, that this is the best translation of the New Tes- 
tament ever made, and that it is referred to by Meli- 
to, bishop of Sardis. In the time of Jerome, the 
Scriptures were read in Syriac in all the Churches. in 
that country, and in Mesopotamia. 

When the council of Nice met, and other general 
councils, there was never any dispute among the 
venerable bishops who attended, about the canon of 
Scripture. In regard to this there seems to have 
been a perfect agreement. The only persons who 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 277 

impugned the commonly received books were here- 
tics; and even from the testimony of these, much 
evidence may be derived in favour of our canon. 
The Arians and Pelagians appealed to the same 
Scriptures as the orthodox Church. It was impossi- 
ble, after the Church was widely extended, and the 
New Testament translated into divers tongues, that 
any book could have been added to the sacred vol- 
ume, or abstracted from it. Such an attempt, if it 
could have proved successful in a single Church, 
never could have prevailed to any extent. Detection 
of such a fraudulent attempt would have been cer- 
tain and immediate. We have, therefore, the utmost 
certainty, that we now possess the identical Scrip- 
tures which were given to the Churches by the apos- 
tles and other inspired men. The learned John 
David Michaelis has very needlessly stirred a ques- 
tion concerning the canonical authority of the writ- 
ings of Mark and Luke, because they only of the 
writers of the books of the New Testament were not 
numbered among the apostles. But the ancient 
Church never entertained any doubt on this subject, 
and received their gospels with the same confidence 
and veneration as the others. Indeed, they seem to 
have esteemed the gospel of Luke just as if it had 
been dictated by Paul, and that of Mark as if dictat- 
ed by Peter. And when we look into these gospels, 
we find no more evidence of human weakness or 
error, than in those written by Matthew and John. 
And we feel no hesitation in applying to this case the 
rule already mentioned, that books universally receiv- 
ed as inspired by those who lived nearest to the times 
when they were published, ought to be considered 
canonical by us. And according to this rule, these 
gospels have as good a claim to a place in the canon 
as any books in the volume. 

It will, we presume, be satisfactory to the reader 
to have some of the testimonies of the Christian 
fathers in regard to each book, or each class of books 
set before him. This will be the subject of the next 
chapter. 

24 



278 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 



CHAPTER XX. 



TESTIMONIES IN FAVOUR OF THE CANONICAL AUTHORITY OF THE BOOKS 
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



Although the precise time when these books were 
written is unknown, it has generally been believed, 
that Matthew's gospel is among the earliest. The 
uniform testimony of the fathers is, that Matthew 
wrote in Hebrew ; that is, in the vernacular language 
of Judea. To this opinion, modern critics have made 
serious objections. They allege, that there is no clear 
evidence of the existence of the Hebrew codex; that 
the work has no internal evidence of being a transla- 
tion ; and that this opinion tends to destroy our idea 
of the integrity of the sacred canon; for, according to 
it, one inspired work which belonged to the canon is 
lost, and its place supplied by a translation, made 
nobody knows by whom. For these, and such like 
reasons, a large number of our ablest critics have 
declared in favour of a Greek original. But as a 
mere argument cannot stand against a body of com- 
bined testimony, the opinion of a Hebrew original is 
likely to maintain its ground, especially as numbers 
among its advocates are men as learned and saga- 
cious as those who appear on the other side. To 
reconcile these discordant opinions, an ingenious and 
plausible theory has been invented, which is, that 
Matthew first prepared his gospel for the Jewish 
converts ; but others who did not understand the 
Hebrew, naturally wishing for an authentic account 
of the life of our Lord from the pen of an apostle, 
prevailed with him before he left Judea, to put it into 
Greek; or to cause it to be translated under his own 
eye. The Hebrew copy being only in possession of 
the Ebionites and Nazarenes, was soon corrupted, 
and finally lost, when no Church of Hebrew Chris- 
tians any longer existed. Thus they reconcile the 
testimony of the ancients with the opinion that the 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. . 279 

Greek text is truly inspired, and therefore, a part of 
the sacred canon. There is much internal probability 
in this theory, and all it wants to commend it fully 
to our acceptance is the want of external testimony. 
But let us hear what the fathers say respecting Mat- 
thew as an Evangelist. 

Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who had seen and 
conversed with the apostle John, mentions Matthew's 
gospel, and says, " he wrote the divine oracles in 
Hebrew."* We learn from this in what esteem the 
writings of apostles were held in the very earliest 
times. Matthew's gospel is here denominated the 
divine oracles, by a man who was contemporary 
with John, and who, no doubt, spoke the sentiments 
of the Church, in that day. 

Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, who was acquainted 
with Polycarp the disciple of John, says, " Matthew, 
then among the Jews, wrote a gospel in their lan- 
guage, while Peter and Paul were preaching at 
Rome."t In another place, he says, " The gospel of 
Matthew was delivered to the Jews."t Origen says, 
" According to the traditions received by me, the first 
gospel was written by Matthew, once a publican, 
afterwards a disciple of Jesus Christ, who delivered 
it to the Jewish believers, composed in their own 
language. "§ Origen flourished about a hundred years 
after the death of John, lived most of his life near to 
Judea, and was thoroughly versed in biblical learning. 

Eusebius may be placed & century after Origen. 
No man had taken more pains to search into ecclesi- 
astical antiquities. He gives the following testimony, 
" Matthew having first preached the gospel to the 
Hebrews, when about to go to other people, delivered 
to them in their own language, the gospel written by 
himself." || 

Thus, in the Synopsis ascribed to Athanasius, it is 
said, "Matthew wrote his gospel in Hebrew, and 
published it at Jerusalem." IT 

* Lardner, Vol. III. p. 160. § Lardner, Vol. III. p. 160. 

t Adv. Haer. L. III. c. 1. || Ibid. 

X Euseb. L. V. c. 8. I Ibid. p. 150. 



280 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Cyril of Jerusalem also testifies, " that Matthew 
wrote in Hebrew." Epiphanius, Gregory Nazianzen, 
and Ebedjesu, say the same. 

Jerome, in his commentary on this gospel, says, 
" Matthew the publican, surnamed Levi, wrote his 
gospel in Judea, in the Hebrew language.""* 

Concerning the time when this gospel was pub- 
lished, there are several opinions; some placing it 
eight years after the ascension of our Lord; others 
bringing it down to the fifteenth year ; and some so 
low as the year of our Lord sixty-four. While, on 
the other hand, some late critics carry it up to the 
third or fourth year after the ascension. 

The gospel of Mark is also noticed by Papias, in a 
passage which has been preserved by Eusebius. He 
says, " that when Peter had come to Rome, they 
were so inflamed with love for the truths of Chris- 
tianity, that they entreated Mark the companion of 
Peter, and whose gospel we now have, praying him 
that he would write down for them and leave with 
them an account of the doctrines which had been 
preached to them; and they did not desist from their 
request, until they had prevailed on him, and pro- 
cured his writing that which is now the gospel of 
Mark. That when Peter came to know this, he was 
by the direction of the Holy Spirit pleased with the 
request of the people, and confirmed the gospel which 
was written for the use of the Churches."t Accord- 
ing to this testimony of an apostolical father, the 
gospel of Mark received the sanction of Peter, and is 
as apostolic as if this apostle had written it with his 
own J ^an£l. And as it was nothing else than the sub- 
stance 'pf -Peter's preaching, it is all one as if he had 
dictated it* to an aManuensis. 

Irensejis, however, states the matter a little differ- 
ently, in jsome respects^ He says, "After their death 
(Peter and Paul,) Mark, also the disciple of Peter, 
delivered to us *ie things which had been preached 
by Peter." J X' % 

* See Lard. Vol. III. p. 160. I Lard. Vol. III. p. 177. 

t Ibid.p 177. ¥ 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 281 

Augustine called Mark "the abridger of Matthew," 
on account of his relating things so much in the same 
style as that apostle ; but this gospel is not properly 
an abridgment, for in some things he is more minute, 
and enlarges more than Matthew; and he has many 
particulars not recorded by Matthew. 

The testimony of Clement of Alexandria is much 
to the same purpose as what has already been stated; 
which shows that a uniform tradition existed in rela- 
tion to this matter. He says, " when Peter was pub- 
licly preaching the gospel at Rome, by the influence 
of the Holy Spirit, many of the converts desired 
Mark, as having been long a companion of Peter, 
and who well remembered what he preached, to 
write down his discourses. That upon this he com- 
posed his gospel, and gave it to those who made this 
request, which when Peter knew, he neither encour- 
aged nor obstructed the work."* 

Tertullian informs us, " that the gospel published 
by Mark may be reckoned Peter's, whose interpreter 
he was."t And Origen concurs in the uniform testi- 
mony; "Mark," says he, "wrote his gospel accord- 
ing to the dictates of Peter." And- Jerome also tells 
us, " that Mark, the disciple of Peter, wrote a short 
gospel, from what he had heard from Peter, at the 
request of the brethren at Rome, which when Peter 
knew, he approved and published it in our Churches, 
commanding the reading of it by his own authori- 
ty,";!: which exactly agrees with what was cited from 
Papias. We see how full are the testimonies in 
favour of this gospel; and accordingly, we never 
hear in all antiquity of any doubt or scruple respect- 
ing its canonical authority. 

The only information that can be depended on 
respecting the time when this gospel was published, 
is, that in the testimonies cited above, it is said, that 
it was written after Peter came and preached at 
Rome; and one witness says, after his death. We 
have, it is true, something said on this subject by 

* Euseb. Ecc. Hist. Lib. VI. c. 4. 

t Lard. Vol. III. p. 178. t Lard. Vol. III. p. 178. 

24* 



282 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

writers who lived in the middle ages, but their testi- 
mony is of little worth on such a subject. And one 
of these writers asserts, that Mark wrote his gospel 
at Rome, and in the Roman language; for which 
opinion there is no ancient authority. It was no 
doubt written, like the other books of the New Tes- 
tament, in Greek. 

Luke the penman of the third gospel, was selected 
by the Churches to travel with Paul, and was his com- 
panion during his confinement at Rome. Concern- 
ing this evangelist, Irenaeus also speaks in the same 
passage in which he mentions Mark, saying, " that 
Luke, the companion of Paul, put down in a book 
the gospel preached by him." In another place, he 
says, " Luke was not only a companion but a fellow- 
labourer of the apostles, especially of Paul." " The 
apostles," says he, " envying none, plainly delivered 
to all, the things which they had heard from the 
Lord; so likewise Luke, envying no man, has de- 
livered to us what he learned from them, as he says, 
" even as they declared them unto us, from the be- 
ginning, who were eye-witnesses and ministers of his 
word."* Eusebius informs us, that Clement of 
Alexandria, in a work not now extant, bore ample 
testimony to the gospel of Luke, as well as to the 
other gospels. And he mentions a tradition which 
he had received from more ancient presbyters, " that 
the gospels with genealogies were first written." 
Tertullian speaks of Mark and Luke as " disciples of 
the apostles," but he ascribes the same authority to 
the gospels written by them, as to others. " Luke's 
Digest," says he, " is often ascribed to Paul." And 
Origen, in speaking of the four gospels, says, " The 
third is that according to Luke, the gospel commend- 
ed by Paul, published for the sake of the Gentile 
converts."! 

The testimony of Eusebius to Luke's gospel is 
very full. He says, " Luke, who was of Antioch, 
and by profession a physician, for the most part a 
companion of Paul, who had likewise more than a 

* Lard. Vol. III. p. 1D8. t Lard. Vol. III. p. 198. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 283 

slight acquaintance with the other apostles, has left 
us, in two books divinely inspired, evidences of the 
art of healing souls, which he had learned from 
them. One of them is the gospel which he profes- 
seth to have written as they delivered it to him who 
were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word, with 
all of whom he had been perfectly acquainted from 
the first. "* And in another place, he says, "Luke 
hath delivered in his gospel a certain account of such 
things as he had been assured of by his intimate ac- 
quaintance and familiarity with Paul, and his con- 
versation with the other apostles." In the Synopsis 
ascribed to Athanasius, it is said, "that the gospel 
of Luke was dictated by the apostle Paul, and writ- 
ten and published by the blessed apostle and phy- 
sician Luke." To these testimonies it will be unne- 
cessary to add any others, except that of Jerome, 
which is as follows: "Luke, who was of Antioch, 
and by profession a physician, not unskilful in the 
Greek language, a disciple of the apostle Paul, and 
the constant companion of his travels, wrote a gos- 
pel, and another excellent volume, entitled the Acts 
of the Apostles." It is supposed that Luke did not 
learn his gospel from the apostle Paul only, who had 
not conversed with the Lord in the flesh, but also 
from other apostles, which likewise he owns at the 
beginning of his volume, saying, "Even as they de- 
livered them unto us, who from the beginning were 
eye-witnesses and ministers of the word."t 

In another place, he says, "the third evangelist is 
Luke, the physician, a Syrian of Antioch, who was 
a disciple of the apostle Paul, and published his gos- 
pel in the countries of Achaia and Boeotia." 

This gospel has from the time of its publication, 
been received as canonical by the whole Christian 
Church; has been constantly read in the Churches 
as a part of divinely inspired Scripture; has been 
cited as authority by all Christian writers; and has 
a place in every catalogue of the books of the New 
Testament which was ever published. Its canonical 

* Lard. Vol. III. p. 198. t Ibid. Vol. III. p. 200. 



284 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

authority is therefore placed beyond the reach of rea- 
sonable doubt, notwithstanding the injudicious scru- 
ples which some learned moderns have entertained 
and published to the world respecting it.* 

The fourth and last of the gospels was written by 
John, the beloved disciple. This evangelist, accord- 
ing to the universal testimony of the ancients, sur- 
vived all the other apostles, and did not leave the 
world until about the close of the first century of the 
Christian era. The testimonies to the genuineness 
and canonical authority of this gospel are as full as 
could be desired. 

Irenasus asserts, " that the evangelist John designed 
by his gospel to confute the errors which Cerinthus 
had infused into the minds of the people, and which 
had been infused by those called Nicolaitanes; and 
to convince them that there was one God who had 
made all things by his word, and not as they ima- 
gined, one who was the Son of the Creator, and an- 
other the Christ who was impassible and descended 
upon Jesus the Son of the Creator."! Jerome fully 
confirms this testimony of Irenseus. He says, " that 
when John was in Asia, there arose the heresies of 
Ebion and Cerinthus, and others who denied that 
Christ had come in the flesh, that is, denied his divine 
nature; whom he in his epistle calls antichrist, and 
whom Paul frequently condemns in his epistles. He 
was forced by almost all the bishops of Asia, and the 
deputations of many other Churches to write more 
plainly concerning the divinity of our Saviour; and 
to soar aloft in a discourse concerning the word, not 
more bold than felicitous." " It is related in Eccle- 
siastical history, that John, when solicited by the 
brethren to write, answered, that he would not do it 
unless a day of public prayer and fasting was ap- 
pointed to implore the assistance of God: which being 
done, and the solemnity being honoured with a satis- 
factory revelation from God, he broke forth in the 

* See a discussion respecting- the inspiration of the gospels of 
Mark and Luke, in my work on the Canon, 
t Lard. Vol. III. p. 227. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 285 

words with which his gospel commences, in the 

BEGINNING WAS THE WORD," &C* 

The same learned father, in his book of " Illustri- 
ous Men," says, " John wrote a gospel at the request 
of the bishops of Asia, against Cerinthus and other 
heretics, and especially against the doctrine of the 
Ebionites then springing up, who say that Christ did 
not exist before his birth of Mary; for which reason 
he was obliged to declare his divine nativity. An- 
other reason of his writing is also mentioned, which 
is, that having read the volumes of Matthew, Mark, 
and Luke, he expressed his approbation of their his- 
tory as true ; but observed, that they had recorded an 
account of but one year of our Lord's ministry, even 
the next after the imprisonment of John [the Bap- 
tist,] in which also he suffered. Omitting, therefore, 
that year, (for the most part,) the history of which 
had been written by the other three, he related the 
acts of the preceding time before John was shut up 
in prison, as may appear to those who read the four 
evangelists; which may serve to account for the 
seeming difference between John and the rest."t 

This ample testimony of Jerome is confirmed by 
Augustine, who says, "that this evangelist wrote 
concerning the co-eternal divinity of Christ, against 
heretics.";): 

Lampe, Lardner, and Titmann, have called in 
question this account of the occasion of John's wri- 
ting; but the plausible reasonings of ingenious men 
have little weight, when laid in the balance with the 
positive testimony of such men as those who have 
asserted the contrary. Whether this gospel was writ- 
ten before or after the destruction of Jerusalem, is a 
matter of dispute among the learned; but the opinion 
of the ancients, and most of the moderns is, that it 
was written afterwards; and with this, the internal 
evidence best agrees. 

The Acts of the Apostles was undoubtedly written 
by Luke, for it is dedicated to Theophilus, the same 

* Lard. Vol, III. p. 229. I Ibid. p. 228. 

t Ibid. 



286 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

excellent person to whom he had dedicated his gos- 
pel, and in this last dedication he refers to his former 
work. The fact is also confirmed by the testimony 
of the whole Christian Church, no one having ever 
called it in question. 

This book was in great esteem among the early 
fathers, and is often mentioned in their writings, and 
always quoted as a part of inspired Scripture. 

Irenaeus says, " Luke's Acts of the Apostles ought 
to be equally received with the gospel." " In them 
he has carefully delivered to us the truth, and given 
us a sure rule for salvation." So also, Clement of 
Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, 
all ascribe the Acts of the Apostles to Luke.* 

In the Syriac version of the New Testament, the 
name of Luke is prefixed to this book; the same is 
also said to be the fact in some very ancient manu- 
scripts. 

It must have been early circulated among the 
Churches, for it is plainly referred to by Clement of 
Rome, the fellow-labourer of Paul. And Polycarp, 
in his epistle to the Philippians, has cited a passage 
from the Acts; as also Justin Martyr, in his " Exhor- 
tation to the Greeks." It is distinctly cited by Ire- 
naeus more than thirty times, and is expressly de- 
nominated Scripture, which is also true of Tertul- 
lian. 

The Acts of the Apostles being found in all the 
catalogues of the books of the New Testament, hav- 
ing always been read in the Churches, uniformly 
quoted as Scripture, and possessing all the internal 
evidences of inspiration, as well as the express testi- 
mony of the early fathers, has an undoubted right to 
a place in the sacred canon. 

* See Lardner, Vol. III. p. 207. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 287 



CHAPTER XXI. 



The fourteen epistles of Paul constitute a very large 
and very important part of the canon of the New 
Testament, and the evidence of their canonical autho- 
rity is complete. Indeed, no question has ever been 
agitated respecting the divine authority of any one 
of them ; but as his name is prefixed to all, except 
the epistle to the Hebrews, it has been doubted 
whether indeed it was written by Paul. After a 
thorough investigation, however, the Church, both in 
the east and west, settled down in the full belief that 
this apostle was the writer. 

Clement of Rome, in an epistle to the Corinthians, 
refers expressly to one of Paul's epistles to the same 
people. " Take," says he, " into your hands, the 
epistle of blessed Paul the apostle. What did he at 
first write to you in the beginning of the gospel ? 
Verily he did by the Spirit admonish you concerning 
himself, Cephas, and Apollos, because that even then 
ye did form parties."* There are, in the epistle of 
Clement, several other passages cited from Paul, but 
this is the only one where his name is mentioned. 

Her mas and Ignatius also cite words from Paul's 
epistles, but without designating the book from which 
they are taken. And Polycarp, the martyr, and dis- 
ciple of John, when condemned to death, wrote an 
epistle to the Philippians, in which he makes express 
mention of Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, and 
cites the apostle's words: " Do ye not know that the 
saints shall judge the world ?t as Paul teaches." This 
venerable and apostolical father, in the same epistle, 
quotes a passage from Paul's epistle to the Ephesians 
as Scripture. " For I trust," says he, " that ye are 
well exercised in the Holy Scriptures, as in these 

* Epist. Clem. Rom. ad Cor. f 1 Cor. vi. 2. 



2S8 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Scriptures it is said, < Be ye angry and sin not ; let 
not the sun go down upon your wrath/ "* He also 
cites passages from the second epistle to the Corin- 
thians, from the epistle to the Galatians, from the first 
and second to the Thessalonians, from the epistle to 
the Hebrews, and from both of Paul's epistles to 
Timothy. But as was customary at that time, he 
does not refer to the book from which his citation in 
any particular instance is made. 

Justin Martyr quotes many texts from Paul's epis- 
tles, and in the very words of the apostle, but does 
not mention his name, or the title of the epistle from 
which he makes his citations. Irenaeus quotes pas- 
sages from all the epistles of Paul, except the short 
letter to Philemon. It would fill too much space to 
put down all the texts cited by this father. Let the 
following suffice.! " This same thing Paul has ex- 
plained, writing to the Romans, ' Paul, an apostle of 
Jesus Christ, separated to the Gospel of God.' J Again 
writing to the Romans, he says, ' Whose are the 
fathers, and of whom concerning the flesh Christ 
came, who is God over all blessed for evermore.'§ 
This also Paul manifestly proves in his epistle to the 
Corinthians, saying, < Moreover, brethren, I would 
not that ye should be ignorant ho w that all our fathers 
were under the cloud.' || Paul, in his second epistle 
to the Corinthians, says, i In whom the god of this 
world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe 
not.'IT The Apostle Paul says, in his epistle to the 
Galatians, < Wherefore then serveth the law of works? 
it was added until the seed should come to whom the 
promise was made.'** As also blessed Paul says in 
his epistle to the Ephesians, < For we are members 
of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.'tt As also 
Paul says to the Philippians, ' I am full, having re- 
ceived of Epaphroditus the things which were sent 
from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice 
acceptable, well pleasing unto God. 'J J Again, Paul 

* Ephes. iv. 26. § Rom. ix. 5. ** Gal. iii. 19. 

t Iren. adv. Haeret. || 1 Cor. x. 1. tt Ephes. v. 30. 

X Rom. i. 1. IT 2 Cor. iv. 4. tt Phil. iv. 13. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 289 

says, in his epistle to the Colossians, 'Luke, the 
beloved physician, saluteth you.'* The apostle, in 
the first epistle to the Thessalonians, says, * And the 
God of peace sanctify you wholly.'t And again 
in the second epistle to the Thessalonians, speaking 
of antichrist, says, ' And then shall that wicked 
one be revealed.' "% In the beginning of his work 
against heresies, he says, " Whereas some having re- 
jected the truth, bring in lying words, and 'vain 
genealogies rather than godly edifying, which is in 
faith, as saith the apostle.' "§ The first epistle to 
Timothy is very often quoted in the above work. 
When speaking of Linus, he says, " Of this Linus 
Paul makes mention in his epistle to Timothy, ' Eu- 
bulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus.' || As 
Paul says, 6 A man that is a heretic, after the first 
and second admonition reject.' "IT 

Thus Irenaeus, who lived in the age next after that 
of the apostles, and who had conversed with men 
who had seen some of them, refers as familiarly and 
frequently to the writings of Paul, as we are accus- 
tomed to do now. The epistle to the Hebrews he 
does not cite in any of his writings, which are now 
extant, though Eusebius informs us that he had seen 
a work of his in which there are citations from this 
epistle; but he does not say that he quoted them as 
from Paul. Probably he participated in the prejudice 
of the western Church respecting the author of this 
epistle. 

The epistles of Paul are quoted by Athenagoras, 
who lived in the second century; also, many times 
by Clement of Alexandria. A few examples only 
need be here adduced. " The apostle, in the epistle 
to the Romans, says, 'Behold, therefore, the goodness 
and severity of God.'** The blessed Paul, in the first 
epistle to the Corinthians, says, ' Brethren, be not 
children in understanding; howbeit in malice be ye 

* Col. iv. 4. II 2 Tim. iv. 21. 

t 1 Thess. v. 23. V Tit. iii. 10. Sec Lard. Vol. III. 

I 2 Thess. ii. 8. ** Rom. ix. 

§ 1 Tim. i. 4. 

25 



290 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

children, but in understanding be men/* The apos- 
tle, says he, calls the common doctrine of faith i a sa- 
vour of knowledge.'! Hence also Paul says, ' Having 
these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse our 
hearts from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, per- 
fecting holiness in the fear of God/J Whereupon 
Paul also writing to the Galatians, says, < My little 
children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ 
be formed in you/§ The blessed apostle says, < I tes- 
tify in the Lord that ye walk not as other Gentiles 
walk/ 1| Again, ' Submitting yourselves to one an- 
other in the fear of God/ "IT He also quotes the 
epistle to the Philippians expressly; and in another 
place 'he refers to it in the following manner: " The 
apostle of the Lord also exhorting the Macedonians, 
says, 'The Lord is at hand; take heed that we be 
not found empty/ " He also cites Paul's epistle to 
the Colossians and to the Thessalonians. And from 
the first epistle to Timothy he takes the following 
words: "0 Timothy, keep that which is committed 
to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, 
and oppositions of science falsely so called, which 
some preferring have erred concerning the faith/'** 
On which he observes, that heretics reject both epis- 
tles to Timothy. The epistle to Titus is quoted several 
times; and in one place he remarks, " That Paul had 
cited Epimenides the Cretan, in his epistle to Titus, 
after this manner, ' One of themselves, a poet of their 
own, said, the Cretans are always liars/ "tt This 
father of the second century also distinctly quotes the 
epistle to the Hebrews, and unhesitatingly ascribes it 
to Paul. " Wherefore writing to the Hebrews, who 
were declining from the faith, Paul says, 'Have ye 
need that any teach you again which be the first 
principles of the oracles of God, and are such as have 
need of milk and not strong meat?' "J J 

Tertullian, who also wrote in the second century, 
furnishes many testimonies in favour of Paul's epis- 

* 1 Cor. xiv. 20. § Gal. iv. 19. ** 1 Tim.vi. 20, 21. 

+ 2 Cor. ii. 14. || Ephes. iv. 17, 18. ft Tit. ii. 12, 13. 

% 2 Cor. vii. 1. IT Phil. iv. 5. XX Heb. v. 12. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 291 

ties. He expressly refers to Romans ix. 5, where 
Christ is called " God over all, blessed for evermore/' 
which he interprets as we do now. In his treatise on 
monogamy he computes, that one hundred and sixty- 
years had elapsed since Paul wrote his epistle to the 
Corinthians. He speaks also of the second epistle to 
the Corinthians, and of the opinion entertained by 
some, that it was the same person who was here for- 
given, who, in the first epistle, was ordered to be 
"delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." 
" But of this," says he, " no more need be said, if it 
is the same Paul who writing to the Galatians reck- 
ons heresy among the works of the flesh; and who 
directs Titus to reject a man who was a heretic after 
the first admonition, ' knowing that he that is such, 
is subverted and sinneth, being condemned of him- 
self.' "* " I pass," says he, " to another epistle, 
which we have inscribed to the Ephesians, but the 
heretics to the Laodiceans." " According to the true 
testimony of the Church, we suppose this epistle to 
have been sent to the Ephesians, and not to the 
Laodiceans, but Marcion has endeavoured to alter 
this inscription, upon pretence of having made a 
more diligent search into this matter." " But," says 
he, " the inscriptions are of no value, for the apostle 
wrote to all when he wrote to some." Paul to the 
Galatians says, " For we through the Spirit wait for 
the hope of righteousness by faith."t To the Phil- 
ippians he says, " If by any means I might attain 
unto the resurrection of the dead; not as though I 
had already attained or were already perfect." J And 
writing to the Colossians he expressly cautions them 
against philosophy: "Beware lest any man spoil 
you through philosophy and vain deceit after the 
tradition of men, and not after the instruction of the 
Spirit."§ And in his epistle to the Thessalonians, 
the apostles adds, "But of the times and seasons 
brethren ye have no need that I write unto you. For 
yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so 

* Tit. i. 10. X Phil. iii. 11, 12. 

t Gal. v. 5. § Col. ii. 8. 



292 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

cometh as a thief in the night."* And in his second 
epistle to the same people he writes with greater 
solicitude, "But I beseech you, brethren, by the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye be not soon 
shaken in mind nor troubled."! And this charge 
Paul has given to Timothy: " Timothy, keep that 
which is committed to thy trust." J 

That remarkable passage of Tertullian, already 
referred to, in which he is supposed to speak of the 
autographs of Paul's epistles, may appropriately be 
cited in this place, to show that he did certainly 
write to those churches to which his epistles are now 
inscribed. " Well," says he, " if you be willing to 
exercise your curiosity profitably in the business of 
your salvation, visit the apostolical churches, in which 
the very chairs of the apostles still preside, in which 
their truly authentic letters are recited, sending forth 
the voice and representing the countenance of each 
one of them. Is Achaia near you ? you have Cor- 
inth. If you are not far from Macedonia, you have 
Philippi; you have Thessalonica. If you can visit 
Asia, you have Ephesus. And if you are near to 
Italy, you have Rome, from whence also you may 
be easily satisfied. "§ 

Origen quotes Paul's epistles as expressly and fre- 
quently as any modern writer. To transcribe all the 
testimonies which might be taken from this author, 
would fill a volume, and would require us to set 
down the greater part of all Paul's epistles. In one 
passage in his work against Celsus, he refers to seve- 
ral of them in the following manner. " Do you first 
of all explain the epistles of him who says these 
things, and having diligently read and attended to the 
sense of the words there used, particularly in that to 
the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Philippi- 
ans, to the Romans, &c."|| Origen believed that the 
epistle to the Ephesians was addressed to the Church 
of Ephesus, for he cites it under that name. And 
he uniformly ascribes the epistle to the Hebrews to 

* 1 Thess. v. 1—3. t 1 Tim. vi. 20. || Lard. Vol. I p. 535. 

*i 2 Thess. ii. 1, 2. § De Praescriptione, c. xxxvi. p. 245. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 293 

Paul, from which he quotes many passages. And 
he not only expresses his own opinion on this point, 
but delivers the current opinion which had come 
down from the fathers who preceded him. His 
words are, " for it is not without reason that the an- 
cients have handed it down to us as Paul's." Con- 
sidering the nearness of Origen to the times of the 
apostles, and that he resided near the people to 
whom it was sent, perhaps in the very city, and that 
his knowledge of ecclesiastical and biblical matters 
was more extensive than that of any other man, his 
testimony that this epistle belongs to Paul ought to 
be decisive; especially as it is corroborated by that 
of all the Greek fathers. Eusebius, indeed, while he 
admits its canonical authority, expresses some doubt 
about its authorship; yet in his writings he often 
quotes it as Paul's. 

Cyprian, Victorinus, Dionysius of Alexandria, No- 
vatus, and Methodius, who all lived in the third cen- 
tury, refer frequently to Paul's epistles;* but we 
deem it superfluous to cite further testimonies on this 
subject, except the full and decisive testimony of 
Jerome, than whom a more competent witness could 
not be found. This father, in speaking of the writ- 
ings of Paul, says, " He wrote nine epistles to seven 
churches. To the Romans one ; to the Corinthians 
two; to the Galatians one ; to the Phil ippians one; 
to the Colossians one ; to the Thessalonians two; to 
the Ephesians one; to Timothy two; to Titus one; 
to Philemon one. But the epistle to the Hebrews is 
not thought to be his, because of the difference of 
argument and style; but rather Barnabas's, as Ter- 
tullian thought; or Luke's, according to some others; 
or Clement's, who was afterwards bishop of Rome, 
who being much with Paul, clothed and adorned 
Paul's sense in his own language. Or if it be Paul's, 
he might decline putting his name to it in the inscrip- 
tion, for fear of offending the Jews."t He seems to 
have entertained the idea that this epistle was writ- 

* See Lardner's History of the Apostles, 
f Epist. ad Paulinum. 

25* 



294 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ten by Paul in Hebrew, and that it was translated 
into Greek by some one possessed of a more elegant 
style than Paul. He says, " he wrote as a Hebrew 
to the Hebrews, it being his own language; whence 
it came to pass that being translated it has more ele- 
gance in the Greek than his other epistles. This 
they say is the reason of its differing from Paul's 
other writings. There is also an epistle to the Laodi- 
ceans, but it is rejected by every body."* 

Although Jerome sometimes doubted of the author- 
ship of the epistle to the Hebrews, which was pub- 
lished without the name of the author, yet he com- 
monly quotes it as Paul's; and in his letter to Evan- 
gelius, he writes, " That all the Greeks and some of 
the Latins received this epistle."t He means, re- 
ceived it as Paul's; for we do not find that any were 
for rejecting it altogether from the canon. And in a 
letter to Dardanus, he says, " That it was not only 
received as Paul's by all the churches of the east, 
but by all the ecclesiastical writers in former times: 
though many ascribe it to Barnabas or Clement.''^ 
He also testifies " that it was daily read in the 
churches; and if the Latins did not receive this 
epistle as the Greeks rejected the Revelation of John, 
yet he received both; not influenced so much by the 
present times, as the judgment of ancient writers, 
who quote both; and that not as they quote apocry- 
phal books, and even heathen writings, but as cano- 
nical and ecclesiastical. "§ 

Ambrose and Augustine received the fourteen epis- 
tles of Paul just as we do now,|| and since their time 
this has been the uniform opinion of all ; except that 
some modern critics have revived the controversy 
respecting the author of the epistle to the Hebrews; 
but the claim of the apostle Paul has been vindicated 
by many learned men with such ability, and with 
arguments so conclusive, that it may be hoped that 
this question will not be soon stirred again. 

* Epist. ad Paulinum. § Lard. Vol. II. p. 558. 

t Lard. Vol. II. p. 558. || Ibid. p. 581. 

t Ibid. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 295 

The time when each of Paul's epistles was writ- 
ten, is a point not capable of any certain determina- 
tion; and as is usual, in such cases, the learned are 
divided into various opinions and conjectures. It 
has commonly been thought that the epistles to the 
Thessalonians were first written, but of late a prior 
date has been claimed for the epistle to the Galatians. 
The subject is not imDortant and mav be left to be 
settled by the critics. 



CHAPTER XXIL 



THE CANONICAL AUTHORITY OF THE SEVEN CATHOLIC EPISTLES, AND OF 
THE BOOK OF REVELATION. 

Why these epistles received the denomination of 
Catholic, various reasons have been assigned: but 
none of them are very satisfactory. Some have said 
that they were so called, because they contained the 
one Catholic doctrine which was communicated to 
the Churches, and delivered to the apostles by our 
Saviour, and which might be read by the universal 
Church. But surely this furnished no reason for dis- 
tinctive appellation of those seven epistles, since the 
same may be said of all the other canonical epistles. 

Others allege, that they received this name because 
they were not addressed to particular Churches or 
individuals, like the epistles of Paul, but to the Ca- 
tholic Church. But this statement is not correct; for 
several of them are addressed to particular persons. 

The opinion of Dr. Hammond and Dr. Macknight 
is, that this appellation was at first given to the first 
epistle of Peter and first of John, which were ad- 
dressed to Christians generally, and were universally 
received. On which last account they suppose that 
they were originally called Catholic, to distinguish 
them from such as were not universally received; 



296 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

but, after awhile, the other five being universally 
received also, were included under the same name. 

The first epistle of Peter and the first of John, 
appear to have been circulated and known at a very- 
early period. The apostolic fathers, Ignatius, Poly- 
carp and Papias, cite passages from them, without, 
however, indicating the source whence they were 
derived. 

Justin Martyr quotes a passage which is no where 
else found, but in the second epistle of Peter. 

Diagnetus has several passages taken from the first 
epistle of Peter and the first of John. 

Irenaeus cites from Peter the following: "Whom 
having not seen ye love," which he expressly refers 
to Peter. He also cites the second of Peter, and first 
and second of John. Several texts are also quoted 
by this father from the epistle of James, but without 
mentioning his name.* 

Clement of Alexandria quotes the first epistle of 
Peter often ; the second sometimes ; and also the 
epistle of Jude. 

Tertullian often cites the first epistle of John, and 
in one instance, that of Jude ; but has no quotations 
from the others. 

Origen has given a satisfactory testimony to the 
epistle of James, and refers to it in the following 
manner: " For though it be called faith, if it be with- 
out works it is dead, as we read in the epistle as- 
cribed to James." And in the Latin translation of 
his works, by Rufin, this epistle is quoted as divine 
scripture, and is referred to " James, the apostle, 
and brother of our Lord." This learned father often 
cites passages from the first of Peter; but not from 
the second, except in his Latin works, the originals 
of which are lost. In his book against Celsus, he 
says, " as it is said by Peter, Ye as lively stones are 
built up a spiritual house." And again, " Peter in 
his Catholic epistle, says, * put to death in the flesh, 
but quickened in the spirit. 5 " His testimony in 
favour of Jude is also strong. " Jude," says he, 

*Lard. Vol. III. p. 415. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 297 

" wrote an epistle of few lines indeed, but full of 
powerful words and heavenly grace; who, at the 
beginning, says, i Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, 
and brother of James/ " 

Cyprian has copious citations from the first epistle 
of John, and first of Peter; but he makes no men- 
tion of the others. 

Eusebius has a peculiar opinion respecting the 
epistle of James ; he admits that it was written by 
James, a disciple of Christ, but not by the apostle 
James, yet in another place he cites the words, " Is 
any among you afflicted, let him pray; is any merry, 
let him sing psalms; as the sacred apostle says." 
But he is not consistent with himself, for where 
he distributes the books into classes, he places James 
among the suppositious, or such as were not canoni- 
cal. The testimony which he gives in his history is 
important. " One epistle of Peter, called his first, is 
universally received. This the presbyters of ancient 
times have quoted in their writings, as undoubtedly 
genuine ; but that called his second epistle, we have 
been informed, has not been received into the Testa- 
ment; nevertheless, it, appearing to many to be use- 
ful, has been carefully studied with the other Scrip- 
tures."* And in another passage, " That called the 
first of John, and the first of Peter, are to be esteem- 
ed authentic. Of the controverted, yet well known 
and approved by the most, are, that called the epistle 
of James, that of Jude, and the second and third of 
John, whether they were written by the evangelist 
or another." 

Athanasius quotes the epistle of James as the work 
of the apostle of that name ; and cites also passages 
from the first and second of Peter, from the first and 
second of John, and also from Jude. 

Jerome gives the following full testimony to the 
epistle of James : " James called the Lord's brother, 
surnamed Justus, as some think the son of Joseph 
by a former wife, but as I think, rather the son of 
Mary the sister of our Lord's mother, mentioned by 

* Lard. Vol. III. c. xix. p. 415. 



298 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

John in his gospel. Soon after our Lord's passion 
he was ordained bishop of Jerusalem, and wrote one 
epistle, which is among the seven Catholic epistles; 
which too has been said to be published by another 
in his name, but gradually, in process of time, it has 
gained authority. This is he of whom Paul writes 
in his epistle to the Galatians, and who is often men- 
tioned in the Acts of the Apostles; and sometimes, 
in the ' gospels according to the Hebrews/ lately 
translated by me into Greek and Latin." Augustine 
received all the Catholic epistles. He quotes that of 
James, as the production of the apostle of that name. 
Both the epistles of Peter are often cited by him; 
also the three epistles of John ; and he quotes Jude, 
and calls him an apostle. 

In the works of Ephrem, the Syrian, who lived 
and wrote voluminously in the fourth century, there 
are found express quotations from the epistle of 
James, the second of Peter, the second and third of 
John, and from Jude, as well as abundant citations 
from first Peter, and first John; so that he received 
as scripture, the whole seven Catholic epistles. 

The book of Revelation, for a season, fell into 
considerable discredit in the ancient Church; princi- 
pally on account of the support which it seemed to 
give to the extravagant doctrines of the Millenarians ; 
and it is not found in a number of the ancient cata- 
logues. But another reason why it was permitted to 
lie in obscurity was, the deeply mysterious nature of 
its contents; on which account, it was not commonly 
read in the Churches. And some modern writers 
have ventured to question its right to a place in the 
sacred canon. But when its evidence comes to be 
examined, it is found, that so far as early testimony 
goes, it is not inferior to that of any other book in 
the New Testament. 

Both Hermas and Papias appear to have been 
acquainted with this book; as the former imitates 
several of its descriptions, and makes repeated men- 
tion of the "book of life," and of those, whose names 
are written in it ; and the latter seems to have deri- 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 299 

ved some of his opinions from a too literal translation 
of some things in this book. 

But Justin Martyr is the first who makes explicit 
mention of the Revelation. His words are, " And a 
man from among us, by name John, one of the apos- 
tles of Christ, in the Revelation made to him, has 
prophesied that the believers in our Christ shall live 
a thousand years at Jerusalem, and after that shall 
be the general and indeed eternal resurrection and 
judgment of all men together."* 

In the epistle of the Church of Lyons and Vienne, 
in France, which was written before the close of the 
second century, there is found an evident quotation 
from this book : " For he was indeed a genuine dis- 
ciple of Christ, following the Lamb, whithersoever 
he goethP 

Irenseus expressly quotes the Revelation, and as- 
cribes it to John the apostle. " The visions in this 
book," he says, " were seen no long time before, at 
the end of the reign of Domitian."t And in a passage 
preserved by Eusebius, he speaks of " the exact and 
ancient copies of this book, which were confirmed, 
likewise, by the concurring testimony of those who 
had seen John." 

Theophilus of Antioch, as we are assured by Eu- 
sebius, cited testimonies from the Apocalypse, in his 
work against Hermogenes. This book is also quoted 
by Clement of Alexandria. In one passage, he says, 
" Such a one, though here on earth he be not much 
honoured with the first seat, shall 'sit upon the 
twenty-four thrones/ judging the people, as John 
says in the Revelation."^ In another place, he cites 
from it as the work of an apostle. Tertullian also 
quoted many things from the Apocalypse; and seems 
to have entertained no doubt of its being the work 
of the apostle John. 

Hippolytus, of the third century, who had great 
celebrity, both in the eastern and western Church, 

* Lard. Vol. III. c. xxii. p. 447. X Lard. Vol. III. p. 449, 

t Ibid. p. 448. 



300 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

not only received the Revelation as the work of the 
apostle John, but appears to have written a commen- 
tary on the book, as is manifest by the monument of 
this father, dug up in the city of Rome, in the year 
1551. His name, it is true, is effaced from this 
monument, but it contains a catalogue of all the 
works ascribed to him by Eusebius and Jerome, and 
some not mentioned by them, among which is one 
a of the Gospel of John, and the Revelation" 

Origen, who was well acquainted with the Revela- 
tion, denominates the author, "Evangelist and Apos- 
tle," and on account of the predictions which it con- 
tains, "a prophet" also. Origen declared his purpose 
to write a commentary on this book ; but if he carried 
his purpose into execution, the work has not reached 
our times, nor is there any mention of it by ecclesias- 
tical writers who came after him. 

But Dionysius of Alexandria, one of the most 
learned men of the age, has furnished more informa- 
tion respecting the canonical authority of this book 
than any other person. It is from him we learn the 
fact referred to above, that it was on account of the 
use made of this book by the Chiliasts or Millena- 
rians that it fell into partial and temporary discredit. 
These errorists were numerous in the district of Arsi- 
noe, in Egypt, where Dionysius visited them, and 
took great pains to reclaim them from their errors, 
and his efforts were not ineffectual, for he had the 
pleasure of seeing many of them return to the or- 
thodox faith. He informs us, that before his time, 
many rejected this book altogether, and ascribed it 
to Cerinthus, the heretic. He professes for himself 
to believe, that the Revelation was an inspired book, 
and written by a man whose name was John, but a 
different person from the apostle John. The only 
reason which he assigns for this peculiar opinion is, 
the difference of the style from that of the apostle in 
his other works. In answer to which, the judicious 
Lardner remarks, that supposing the alleged differ- 
ence to exist, it will not prove that the apostle John 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 301 

is not the writer, because the style of prophecy is 
altogether different from that of historical narrative, 
and equally so, from the epistolary style. But this 
learned and accurate writer denies that there is such 
a difference of style, as to furnish any solid reason 
for this objection; and in confirmation of his opinion, 
he descends to particulars, and shows, that there are 
some striking points of resemblance between the lan- 
guage of the Apocalypse, and the acknowledged 
writings of the apostle John.* 

Cyprian received the book of Revelation as of 
canonical authority, as will appear by the following 
citations from it. "Hear in the Revelation, the voice 
of thy Lord reproving such men as these : ' Thou 
sayest, I am rich and increased in goods, and have 
need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art 
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
naked.' " Again: "So in the Holy Scriptures, by 
which the Lord would have us to be instructed and 
warned, is the harlot city described." "That waters 
signify people, the divine Scriptures show in the 
Revelation."! 

That Lactantius received this book is evident from 
all his writings; especially those in which he attempts 
from its predictions to foretell " the future destinies 
of the Church.":): Victorinus also, who lived to- 
wards the close of the third century, often quotes 
this book, and ascribes it to John the apostle. § 

Thus it appears, that until the beginning of the 
fourth century, the book of Revelation was univer- 
sally received as canonical ; and only one man ex- 
presses any doubt about the apostle John being the 
author ; and he ascribes it to another John, a disciple 
of our Lord, who also was an inspired man. And 
although it now fell into some neglect and discredit, 
yet no man of any authority in the Church, went so 
far as to reject it altogether. Eusebius, after giving 

* Lardner, Vol. I. c. xliii. p. 633. 
t Ibid. Vol. II. p. 26, 27. 
t Ibid. Vol. II. c. lxiv. p. 292. 
§ Ibid. Vol. II. p. 290. 
26 



302 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 



a catalogue of the other books, says, " After these, 
if it be thought fit, may be placed the Revelation, 
concerning which there are different opinions." 

Athanasius gives the following testimony: "Domi- 
tian in the fourteenth year of his -reign, raising the 
second persecution after Nero, John was banished 
into the isle of Patmos, when he wrote the Revela- 
tion which Irenseus and Justin Martyr explain."* 

Augustine received the Revelation, and frequently 
quotes it. He also ascribed it to the same John who 
wrote the gospel and epistles. Jerome translated it 
into Latin with the other books of the New Testa- 
ment. The evidence of the canonical authority of 
this prophetic vision is therefore as strong as that of 
any book in the New Testament; and the time is 
coming when the seals which have so long closed up 
its meaning shall be broken, and the Apocalypse 
will appear indeed to be a wonderful Revelation of 
events of the greatest importance, which are now 
future. The study of this portion of sacred Scripture 
should not be discouraged ; for as the great wheel of 
Providence revolves, the mystic page will become 
more and more illuminated, and the events predicted 
will be so clearly developed, that all who are endued 
with spiritual understanding will clearly see, by the 
developments which will take place, that the sealed 
book is opened, and that the purposes of God to- 
wards his Church are in the progress of full and 
rapid accomplishment; even "the things that are, 
and the things which shall be hereafter."t 



* Lardner, Vol. II. 40L 



t Rev. i. 19. 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 303 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



RECAPITULATION OP EVIDENCE ON THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

The subject of the canon of the New Testament may 
properly be concluded by a few general remarks. 

1. The constitution of the canon of the New Tes- 
tament did not require the judgment or sanction of 
any council, synod, or church, except as they might 
be witnesses that the books were written by men 
who were known to be inspired. Every book writ- 
ten by an apostle had a right to a place in the canon 
as soon as published. The sacred books were there- 
fore canonical before they were collected together 
into a volume. One of Paul's epistles, as soon as 
received by the Church to which it was sent, had as 
much authority as it ever could have, and possessed 
this authority, if that Church were not at the time in 
possession of any other book. The canon was con- 
stituted, or compiled, when the last inspired volume 
was published. And as the apostle John undoubted- 
ly survived the other apostles, and wrote last, when 
he produced his last writing, whichever it might be, 
the canon was closed. And as this must have been 
prior to his death, so it may be said with certainty, 
that the canon of the New Testament was completed 
before the death of John. And as all the books were 
in circulation while he was living, the Church could 
enjoy the unspeakable privilege of having his infalli- 
ble opinion respecting any and all of these books. 
This will sufficiently account for the universal con- 
sent with which these books were received in every 
part of the Church. As he gave his sanction to the 
other three gospels, so doubtless he would do to the 
whole sacred canon. Accordingly, we find no con- 
troversy in the early ages of the Church, respecting 
the canon. Doubt was entertained by some respect- 



304 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ing a few of those books now in the canon, which 
resulted in a general acquiescence in their claims, 
after the subject was impartially examined ; but res- 
pecting all other books there was a unanimous con- 
sent. This leads to the remark, 

2. That the writings of the apostles were from 
the beginning carefully distinguished from all other 
books. They were denominated, " Scripture," di- 
vine Scripture — inspired writings — the gos- 
pels THE APOSTLES ORACLES OF THE LORD DI- 
VINE fountains, &c, &c. The fathers were not too 
credulous in regard to this matter, but used all care 
to search into the claims of such books as professed 
to be from the apostles. 

3. These books, when written, did not lie in ob- 
scurity, but were publicly read in the churches ; and 
were sought with avidity by the people, and read 
with veneration, not only by the learned but by com- 
mon Christians; for the idea of locking up the holy 
Scriptures from the people seems to have occurred to 
no one. That these canonical books were thus read 
in the churches may be proved by the testimony of 
Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius, Cyprian, and 
Augustine; and no other books received the same 
veneration and attention — none others were spoken 
of as Scripture — as inspired. When any other 
pieces were read in public for instruction, the fathers 
were pointedly careful to distinguish these from the 
canonical books. 

4. In all the controversies which arose in the 
Church, these books were appealed to by all parties, 
as decisive authority, unless we except some of the 
very worst heretics, who, to maintain their opinions, 
mutilated the Scriptures, and rejected such as plainly 
condemned their impious tenets. But most of the 
heretics endeavoured to maintain their opinions by 
the writings of the New Testament. This was the 
case in regard to the Valentinians, the Montanists, 
the Sabellians, the Artemonites, the Arians, the Pe- 
lagians, and the Priscillianists. None of these called 
in question the authority of the sacred books. 



EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. 305 

5. It is an argument of great force, that even the 
avowed enemies of Christianity, who wrote against 
the truth, refer to the books now in the canon, as 
those received as sacred by Christians. These ene- 
mies of the gospel refer to matters contained in these 
books, and some of them mention several of them by 
name. 

Celsus, who lived and wrote less than a hundred 
years after the age of the apostles, says, as his words 
are quoted by Origen, who answered him, " I could 
say many things concerning the affairs of Jesus, and 
those, too, different from what has been written by 
the disciples of Jesus, but I purposely omit them." 
In another place he says, " These things, then, we 
have alleged to you of your own writings." 

Porphyry also, from the fragments of his writings 
which remain, appears to have been well acquainted 
with the four gospels; for the objections which he 
brings against Christianity are directed against things 
still found in these gospels. 

The emperor Julian, called the Apostate, mentions 
by name Matthew and Luke, and cites various things 
out of the gospels. He also mentions John, and says, 
"none of Christ's disciples besides has ascribed to 
him the creation of the world;" "and that neither 
Matthew, nor Luke, nor Mark, had dared to call 
Jesus, God;" "that John wrote later than the other 
evangelists, and at a time when a great number of 
men in the countries of Greece and Italy were con- 
verted." Now if these books had not been genuine, 
would not these learned and powerful opponents 
have known the fact, and would they not have ex- 
posed the fraud? But they silently acquiesce in the 
genuineness of the gospels, and speak of them as the 
writings of the disciples of Christ, with as little hesi- 
tation as Christians themselves. 

6. The testimony which we have adduced is not 
only sufficient to demonstrate that these books were 
originally written by the men to whom they have 
always been ascribed, but also, that the books which 
were in the hands of early Christians contained the 

26* 



306 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 



same things which are now found written in them. 
Excepting about half a dozen texts, the genuineness 
of which is disputed, because the manuscripts and 
versions vary; as far as can be judged from numer- 
ous quotations, from all the early versions, and from 
the ancient manuscripts which have come down to 
us, no material change has taken place in these wri- 
tings. It is true, the fathers in some instances ap- 
pear to have quoted from memory, and in others to 
have interpreted the words of the sacred writers 
differently from what we do, but all evidence goes 
to show that the Scriptures of the New Testament 
have come down to us in their original integrity, 
save those errors which arose from the carelessness 
or ignorance of transcribers; but even in regard to 
these, by means of the multitude of copies of the 
Greek text, and of early versions, with the help of 
numerous quotations made in Africa, Asia, and Eu- 
rope, the correct reading can usually be ascertained 
with very considerable certainty. It is probable that 
almost every sentence in some books of the New 
Testament has been cited or referred to by one or 
other of the fathers. Let any one only cast his eye 
over a table of texts quoted by Cyprian, Origen, Ter- 
tullian, or any other extensive writer among them, 
and he will be convinced that a large part of the 
New Testament could be collected from their wri- 



tings. 



As the apocrypha] books of the New Testament, 
though very numerous, are never connected with the 
sacred volume, and as none now plead for the canon- 
ical authority of any of these books, there is no 
necessity, in treating of the evidences of Christianity, 
to enter into any discussion respecting them. And 
I would beg leave to refer any who may feel a curi- 
osity to inquire into their character, and to have some 
specimens of their style and spirit, to Jones' " New 
method of settling the canon of the New Testament;" 
or the volume which the present writer compiled on 
the subject of the canon. 

Having brought this " View of the Evidences ot 



EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 307 

Christianity" to a close, I would entreat the reader, 
who has accompanied me thus far, not to suffer his 
mind to be disturbed, or his faith unsettled, by objec- 
tions which ingenious men may raise, which he may 
not be able to answer. Objections may be made to 
the most certain principles of science, and even to 
what we know by consciousness, and the evidence 
of our senses; but though we cannot remove all diffi- 
culties, yet we do not distrust our intuitive judg- 
ments, our senses, and the clear deductions of reason. 
Many of the objections of infidels, however, are easily 
answered, and have been fully answered again and 
again; but they still throw back the blunted weapons, 
so often repelled, as though they had never been 
used before. There is no room, in this brief outline, 
to enter on a consideration of the popular objections 
of deists. Such a work would itself require a volume, 
and he who executes such a work skilfully, will 
deserve well of the Christian community. 

One word more to the candid reader. Rest not, 
I entreat you, in a mere rational conviction of the 
truth of the gospel, but speedily reduce your faith to 
practice. Embrace the gospel, as well as assent to 
its truth. If Christianity is true, it is the most im- 
portant concern in the world. Avail yourselves of 
its precious invitations; obey its salutary precepts, 
and escape from the dangers of which it gives you 
warning. 

If the Bible is written by the inspiration of God, 
how highly should we prize this sacred volume, and 
how devoutly and diligently should we study its con- 
tents! "Search the Scriptures." Pray for divine 
illumination, that you may understand them. That 
man who is pronounced " blessed," meditates in the 
law day and night. " The law of the Lord is per- 
fect, converting the soul; the testimonies of the Lord 
are sure, making wise the simple." What is said 
at the beginning and at the close of the last book in 
the canon, may be well applied to the whole Bible: 
" Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the 



308 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY. 

words of this prophecy, and keep those things which 
are written therein. 

" For I testify unto every one that heareth the 
words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall 
add unto these things, God shall add unto him the 
plagues that are written in this book. And if any 
man shall take away from the words of the book of 
this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of 
the book of life, and out of the Holy City, and from 
the things which are written in this book." 



THE END. 



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